“Serial Revisited” is a sister painting to ”Serial”, a painting of my son, Cole, and cereal objects painted a decade ago. When Cole was 8, we were watching TV. Something came on about a serial killer. Cole asked what that was. My stomach sank as I explained to him. Answering his confused look, “Did you think it had something to do with breakfast cereal?” “Yeah.” We had a good laugh. Knew there was a painting in there somewhere. On the surface, that original painting can be viewed as a nostalgic cereal piece. Deeper meaning – fleeting youth, lost innocence. I look at that older painting, when Cole was 8 – little did I know. I see the fine man he’s become, and decided to revisit the theme. This one’s more complex, intense, and reflective of our current state.

In my family, food is love. Ask a Scheuring kid about a holiday, and the first thing we’ll talk about is the food. I have very fond memories watching Saturday morning cartoons with my brother, both of us munching away on overflowing bowls of cereal. Of course, we made our cereal selection decisions based on which brand had the coolest prize. Freakies cereal always seemed to have the best toy. But, Cap’n Crunch Crunch Berries was my favorite.

There’s a great story about the genesis of this painting of my son, Cole, and cereal merchandise.  Was inspired by a conversation we had while watching TV. Back around 2010, when Cole was 8, a news program came on TV – there was talk of a serial killer.  Cole asked “what’s a serial killer?”  Had to explain it to him – imagine trying to explain to an 8-year-old kid about the evil of a serial killer.  Wasn’t fun.  In fact, it was depressing.  After my explanation, I noticed Cole looked confused.  I asked, “what’s wrong?”  “Oh, nothing, Dad.”  “C’mon, what’s wrong?”  He explained that he thought a “cereal” killer had something to do with his breakfast cereal.  We both had a good laugh.

I went through the wide range of emotions in a few seconds.  Had real mixed feelings – kind of a “lost innocence” thing – both serious and silly at the same time.  Thought the idea of a “cereal killer” would make a great painting – tried to capture those feelings on this canvas.

My parents celebrated their 50th Anniversary in the Fall of 2012.  Was able to paint this portrait of them to commemorate the occasion.  The picture that I used as a reference was taken during my wedding in 1992 – my parents were celebrating their 30th Anniversary at that time.  Love how casual they are in this pose.  We presented this painting to my parents at a 50th Anniversary luncheon.

Completed this colored pencil drawing of a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader. Got some great reference photos at one of their games. Spare me the jokes – yes, I did watch the game.

I went down to my basement – saw an old stack of albums.  Was drawn to the garish pink and green of the Sex Pistols “Never Mind The Bollocks” album cover.  Thought it would make a great background for a still life.  I began assembling some of my favorite musicians’ covers – James Brown, Bob Marley, Morrissey, The White Stripes, U2, Elvis Costello – tried to find musicians I liked, but was more focused on finding compelling images.  Many of my paintings include images within images.  I like how the still life can appear as a simple still life or as something more fantastical with the objects taking on a life of their own.  Elvis Costello staring out from behind the camera on the “Last Year’s Model” cover pulled me in.  Had an almost Hannibal Lecter/Darth Vader quality – the camera he’s hiding behind almost feels like a mask.  Used this intense stare as the focal point.  Notice the shadow lines from an outside window lead your eye directly to Elvis.

The little blue monsters – I’m in love with them.  Found them at the Philly Art Museum gift shop.   They’re Russian Nesting Dolls.  Liked the shape and the faces – bought them knowing I would use them in a still life.  Like the repetitive, simple shape.  And, the blue is a nice counterbalance to the stark pinks and oranges. Why tangerines?  Why a pomegranate?  I don’t know – I followed an impulse.  Fruits are fun to paint.  And, I needed a strong pink counterbalance.

A happy coincidence led to the name “Nevermind.”  The Nirvana cover (bottom left) is also called “Nevermind.”  The word “Nevermind” appears three times in this painting – Nirvana cover, Sex Pistols cover, and the reflection on the Bob Marley cover.  I wish I could say this was planned – I always find the best surprises in the details.

Had the family to a small, local rodeo last Summer. Interesting event. They have the traditional bull riding, bronc riding, and calf roping events. Most of the cowboys were from other areas. But, you could tell some locals tried to get in on the action. If the cowboy was from the area, it was almost a guarantee that he didn’t last more than 3 seconds on a bull. The highlight for me was the barrel racing. There must have been 70 girls signed up for the event. When they were worming up, the sun was at it’s golden time – right before it goes down, it gives of a wonderful warm orange glow. Got a number of great reference shots. This is the 1st painting from those shots.

Was in New York City for the Allied Artists of America show at the National Arts Club. Hung out at a nearby park, and this band of skateboarders took over the area. Got a couple of great reference shots.

This grid layout is the original layout I wanted for “Jam” – the first of my toy-themed car paintings completed a few years ago – but, I opted for more of an angled format after reviewing the reference photos. The idea of doing an overhead grid stayed with me, and I decided to try again once I picked up a number of toy cars that had fun, cheesy, junk food consumer-culture sponsors. Love the Hellmann’s Mayo car. Hid the kids’ and Stacey’s names in the painting.

This grid layout is the original layout I wanted for “Jam” – the first of my toy-themed car paintings completed a few years ago – but, I opted for more of an angled format after reviewing the reference photos. The idea of doing an overhead grid stayed with me, and I decided to try again once I picked up a number of toy cars that had fun, cheesy, junk food consumer-culture sponsors. Love the Hellmann’s Mayo car. Hid the kids’ and Stacey’s names in the painting.

Snapped a bunch of shots of the kids playing with sparklers at my in-law’s pool during a 4th of July party. Love the confident pose of my daughter in one of the shots – used it to create this pencil drawing.