John Azoni: Detroit Artist

Over the summer my wife, Laura, and I took a trip up north to spend the weekend at Laura’s parents cottage. They own some beautiful property in Atlanta, MI. I ended up painting this for them for Christmas this year. I think they liked it.

“House on a Hill”
18×24 in., acrylic on canvas
2010

In 2009, my New Year’s resolution was to “seek more adventure”.

I lived this out by taking a random day off work, driving to Port Huron by myself, realizing there was nothing interesting to do there by myself in the dead of winter, and finding a parking lot by the bridge to Sarnia overlooking the water where I read a little bit, and wrote a blog post in my car with the heat on.

It was exhilarating. The world couldn’t hold me down that day.

I’m sure I did other adventurous things in 2009, like proposing to my wife, but the above example was my one attempt to intentionally live out my resolution.

In 2010 I resolved to “seek more adventure again”. This year, more attempts at adventure. My friend Beau and I traveled to Kalamazoo, MI for the Bell’s Brewery 25th anniversary party; the fulfillment of an “Adventure Day”, which we titled as such in our calendars.

The trip was complete with a 40-or-so-piece German band whose name I can’t remember, and a handful of people polka dancing with each other (see above). Also, good food, great beer, a band I love called Deals Gone Bad, and a random couple at a table next to us telling us how great having sex on a motorcycle is.

I shot a real gun for the first time:

Ate tacos out of a taco truck in Mexican Town:

Scored myself a hot wife:

And got deathly ill on my honeymoon:

And also worth mentioning, I bought a 1984 Honda Spree, converted it into a sport utility gardening vehicle, and rode it everywhere for a few months until it died on the last leg of a long trek from Royal Oak to downtown Detroit. It will be sold for parts in the spring. Broom not included.

All-in-all I think 2010 was a great year for “seek more adventure again”.

Looking ahead to 2011, I think my resolution will be this: “do stuff ahead of time”. And as an offshoot of that, “significantly reduce the number of times I my wife gets mad at me for reasons leading to said resolution.”

But in all seriousness, there is magic in preparation. I just need to train myself to make preparation a habit. In the end I know it will lead to greater peace of mind, deeper relationships, and better business.

I’d love to hear your 2010 highlights, and visions for 2011. Let me know in the comment section.

Until then, have a safe and happy New Year, and don’t be an idiot with the alcohol.

The best commissions are when the client says “do whatever you want”.

Can’t argue with that.

A friend of mine recently commissioned me to do a painting for him and his wife, and allowed me to pursue my own vision.

My first question to him was “what do your dates look like?”

My wife and I bond over sushi. One of our favorite restaurants is a sushi bar not even a mile from our house. I took her there for our first date. But even more than sushi for us, is some good ol’ greasy pizza coupled with some kind of reality show, like Teen Mom or something. Nothing fans the flame like a little Teen Mom. Wouldn’t you agree?

My friend’s marriage is like mine, in that him and his wife prefer to contrast their love for Asian cuisine with some hearty American fare. And so romance, for them, is often rediscovered at In-N-Out Burger.

Burgers happen to be a favorite American icon of mine to begin with, so naturally I enjoyed making this painting.

Here’s how the painting developed start-to-finish:

"My Burger Awaits" - 12x14 in. Acrylic on canvas

I’ve eaten at a lot of burger joints. In-N-Out Burger I have yet to try.

But higher on my list of burger priorities though would involve a trip to Sydney, Australia to visit Vaz’s Takeaway; home of “The Ark Burger”. Two of every animal between these buns.

America needs to step up its game.

I have a piece in the December exhibition put on by Pop Up Detroit. Pop Up Detroit is an effort by some young Detroiters to turn abandoned buildings into temporary gallery space.

Details of the upcoming exhibition:

Dec. 4, 2010
5800 Cass Ave.
Detroit, MI
5pm – 12 am

Artists include:
John Azoni, Chris Turner, Camilo Pardo, Ian Swanson, David Flaugher, Kymia Nawabi, Robert Woodcox, Jarod Lew, Nicole St. John, Carolyn Garay, Michelle Tanguay, Luke Mack, Rick Boffman, Jenna Bissett, Jack Da Via, William Irving Singer, Kenny Corbin, Jacob Lewkow, and many more.