JANUARY 4, 2006
A PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 CALORIES

Multi-tasking is an art. That is, if you're a guy. For some reason, women appear to be able to do 14 things at once and have no problems. Unfortunately, none of those things is drive. But if there was a woman who could drive, I would be far less concerned with her talking on the cell phone, texting on her blackberry and shaving her legs while driving than I would if it was a guy and he was doing only one of the above.

Enter John Kilduff. A painter by trade, a treadmill runner by hobby. He has managed to fuse the two together to paint pictures while on the go. While it may sound crazy to you ... it sounds crazy to him also. It must, right?

John claims that the running produces a blood flow that translates into a different energy that he's not able to get while standing still. And that translates into more creativity, which in the end, is what every artist seeks. However, his treadmill paintings pale in comparison to his stationary ones. In fact, they almost look like someone was doing them on the run (i.e. in a hurry. Get it?). Jaron and I got a peek at some of his work before the treadmill days -- this guy is talented.

I hope he uses this gimmick just to get himself out there and then resumes his other stuff because he's got some really great paintings. But as an artist myself, I know what it's like to venture out and try different things (ehem, like this show!).

John invited Jaron and I to give the multi-tasking a try. We opted to start on a pair of stationary bikes. In a weird sort of way, it was kind of cool. The yin and the yang of painting, which is relaxing, and the exertion of bike riding, kinda worked ... as an outlet. But if I were to try to make a living as a painter, as John is, I'm not sure I'd stay on the treadmill for all of my paintings. The story is cool -- "Hey, check out this painting, some dude painted it while running on a treadmill," but the novelty only goes so far. It would be like me saying, "Hey, check out this song I wrote in 10 minutes." On a rare occasion, that's cool because it's different, but I don't think people are interested in an album of 10-minute songs. But what do I know?

Never mind my personal opinions of what John should be doing to be making more money. He's having fun and enjoying life. And what could be better? If painting while running on a treadmill brings him happiness, then I'm all for him going faster. John Kilduff is a colorful character. And all characters are welcome. Even multi-taskers.

Past Entries:

EVAN'S BLOG

JANUARY 4, 2006
A PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 CALORIES

FEATURES

EVAN'S BLOG

JANUARY 4, 2006A PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 CALORIES

FEATURES

JANUARY 4, 2006
A PICTURE IS WORTH 1,000 CALORIES