Len the Artist

Steve Grayeck 1974 - 2010

2010-12-12T16:26:00.001-08:00

The following post is in remembrance of my younger brother Steve Grayeck.

GRAYECK Steven Edward Grayeck, age 36 of Bridgeport, died unexpectedly on Monday, December 6, 2010. He was born in Bridgeport to Linda (Soderberg) Grayeck and Richard Grayeck. Steven was a graduate of Stratford High School and had attend Southern Connecticut University. He was employed at Oracle Corporation in Stamford in systems administration. Steven was an avid NY Yankees and San Francisco 49ers fan. From a young age, Steven was interested in computers and video games. He is survived by his mother, Linda Grayeck of Stratford; his father, Richard Grayeck of Stratford; maternal grandmother, Pearl Soderberg of Upton, Mass.; one brother, Len Grayeck of Shelton; one sister, Wendy Hensel and her husband, Keith of Monroe; two nieces, Sarah and Grace Hensel; one aunt; one uncle; and six cousins. Friends may call on Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Pistey Funeral Home, 2155 Main Street, Stratford. Funeral services will be held at the funeral home on Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 11 a.m. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, those who so desire may make contributions in his memory to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, 26 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10004 or info@jdrf.org. Click here for the JDRF donation page.

The following images are pictures of Steve through the years.
The text are the celebration of life statements that were read by my sister Wendy, my niece Sarah and myself.

Wendy's Celebration of Life Statement for Steve

List for Steve – Top 10 things I remember most from our childhood

Sharing a room and bunk bed with those Peanuts sheets; it was great how we’d horse around after bedtime – with Len too – and then pretend we were sleeping when mom or dad would check us; I still wonder if they ever knew what was really going on

Stops at French Bakery for free rolls on the way home from Franklin School

Summer trips to Action Park …. we must have gone at least 6-7 times; the Alpine Ride was our favorite

Weekend visits to Arnie’s Arcade in Westport…I loved how you’d spend all your tokens in 5 min and then ask me for some of mine

Sunning at Short Beach in Stratford during the day and going to Flood Pool for an evening dip

Trips to Disney World and staying at the Polynesian Village; we had such a blast swimming in all those pools

Before you got diabetes at 13…..stops at Gussy’s – neighborhood store – to spend our allowance and pick out our candy; should we get Now & Laters, string licorice or the candy dots? Man, we had tough decisions back then

Bike riding all over the neighborhood and the sidewalk in front of our house; we would bike for hours and hours

Celebrating the big moments in my life and always being happy for me

Your sense of humor – I remember when we lived in SC for a while and the kids there made such a big deal that we were from CT and we were Yankees. That one kid kept teasing you about being a Yankee, in your reserved way you kept ignoring him until one day he really made you mad and you came out with “I have one thing to say … who won the war?” That kid never bothered you again

Instead of focusing on the time we’re not going to have now; I’m going to be grateful and celebrate the time we did have.

Sarah's Celebration of Life Statement for Steve

Uncle Steve

he is very giving
he is very nice
he is respectful
he loves me
he smiles at me
he cares for me
he comes to my party
he gives me good gifts
he trusts me
I love my uncle

Len's Celebration of Life Statement for Steve

Thank you all for joining us today to celebrate my brother Steve’s life

Growing up we were known as “Lenny, Wendy and Stevie” & as we got older, that became “Len, Wendy & Steve”

We didn’t have much growing up, but we always had each other

We weren’t perfect and didn’t always get along, but who does?

We did often hear how we were the best behaved kids in the waiting rooms of dr offices – we’d walk in, sit down and quietly read magazines or books……

Steve, I’m your big brother – I taught you things and tried to protect you

I remember riding our bikes on Liberty St and playing in High Park

I also remember throwing snowballs and dirtbombs at each other in the backyard – it was usually you and Wendy against me

That is, until Dad yelled out the back door for us to stop our nonsense!!!

We’d comply for a few minutes and then once the coast was clear, we’d go right back to what we were doing...

I also remember on rainy days we’d build forts out of blankets and seat cushions in the living room

And I think my incessant playing on the Atari 2600 may have led to your lifelong interest of video games

I remember being jealous that you could eat a lot and never gain an ounce and because of that, Grandma & Grandpa Soderberg commented that you had a “hollow leg”

I also remember your phase of covering almost everything you ate with French salad dressing – when I asked you about it, you said it made things taste better….I think when you got older, you replaced the French dressing with ketchup….

I’m gonna miss all of that

I’m gonna miss your great sense of humor – you’re one of the very funniest people I’ve ever known

I’m gonna miss our in-depth conversations – which over the last few years were limited to talking at Wendy & Keith’s house or online through IM

I’m gonna miss having your expertise with IT/computer issues

I’m gonna miss a lot of things

I recall the last thing I ever said to you the last time I saw you in person

I said “Take care of yourself” - which is the exact same statement your middle namesake, Uncle Eddie, said to me the very last time I ever saw him…..

Steve, you were a redwood among mere sprouts

I am so blessed to have had you in my life.

You will never be forgotten my brother

So this is goodbye for now and until we meet again,

I‘m gonna keep you right here (hand on my heart)

where you’ve always been

I MISS YOU STEVE

I miss you so much

May you rest in peace

On behalf of my family and myself, we'd like to thank the following: Pistey Funeral Home - their help was immeasurable during our time of grief, Pastor Gaylord Lemke - for delivering an excellent celebration of life service, John Congdon - outstanding performance of two songs that helped us celebrate Steve, and to all the family and friends who paid their respects in person and from afar.....

RIP Steve - I miss you bro

My Reality TV Tryout

2010-10-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

For those who may or may not know, I tried out for a reality TV show three weeks ago on Saturday September 25th. It's called "Work of
Art" on Bravo. In a nutshell, it was an adventure to say the least....

"Work of Art: The Next Great Artist is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which
up-and-coming artists compete for a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum and a cash prize of $100,000. The show is produced by
Magical Elves Productions, the same company that created Project Runway and Top Chef. The series premiered on June 9, 2010."

Here's a link describing it in more detail.

Brooklyn Musuem from the front - looks kinda like a mini-Met.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 25th, 2010Barely slept all night too muggy to be comfortable, too cool to turn the AC on....Woke up sometime after 6AM - those hours are nothing but a blur to me. Hence I avoid them AT ALL COSTS. But this was a mission. A mission of art...
Showered, dressed and ready to leave by 7:30 or so.... Ugh, why is so ugly out at this time? Loaded up the car and went back inside. You see, I was dressed business casual = a short sleeve shirt, nice pants, even nice shoes.

But I said to myself - "You're driving 2 hrs into BK, standing for X # of hours and then driving back.. PLUS it's gonna be in the 80s today...."

So I changed into my jean shorts, a sleeveless grey T and a short sleeve "old man" or as I like to call it "my Hemingway shirt"......I was dressed as me. Turns out I blended in better dressed that way anyway. So glad I changed at the last minute....

That delayed me a few minutes so I got under way and off to the races around 7:40 or so..... The Merritt was pretty quiet this time of the day. About 45 mins into the trip, stopped in Greenwich for a break. I knew that I'd be sitting for quite awhile longer. I still can't stand sitting down longer than an hour - the only exceptions being a long drive or the movie = both of which I do maybe twice a year.....

The weather couldn't be more perfect. The sun was shining over the trees by this point, and the sky was a soft pastel blue.

Now, let me interject this narrative by saying I've never driven to Brooklyn (BK) before. I do NOT own a GPS. And I was driving in the morning - the worst time of the day for me. But I did print out directions w/ some street maps. Again - good thing because the friggin directions almost got me lost!!!?
OK - back to the trip. The Hutch isn't bad. Kinda like the Merritt, but more spread out? I dunno.
Then off to 495. After a few miles of that, onto 278. So far so good. No traffic jams..
HA hahahaha!!! 278 BACKS UP!!! - traffic is crawling b/c of the switchovers & strange exits under bridges and whatnot. What kind of sick deranged twisted fool designed these roads? No sense at all.
But I had my game face on. I did more yelling and gesturing than the natives!!!
And I kept it on the DL - they prob thought I was yelling into the phone or something. So I get off 278 and go down this road and then down another road....
Well, I ain't where I'm supposed to be....but I'm close. I can feel it. So I consult the handy dandy map Iprinted out. Somehow I ended up a couple blocks away from a street that would take
me straight to the museum. Washington Ave. What a microsm of city strangeness. Decay and neglect interspersed with bustling thoroughfares and people. Did not know the Hassidic Jews - at least the ones I saw in Brooklyn today - the men wear fur hats. It was 90 degrees out!!

I digress. The musuem was right there in front of me!!
Somehow I found the parking lot in the back. Stretched my legs and walked a little bit.
Turns out the line was around the entire building!!!
Got in line about 9:45. Didn't get in to the interview until 3:15.
The last hour and a half in line was in the sun - next to the parking lot - with brick walls surrounding us. I thought my brain was frying.....

Here is a fruitcake that showed up.

We all thought he was a cupcake vendor.

Turns out he was a contestant arriving late....

Met some interesting people standing there in line:

*Weirdo family from NJ (imagine that!?!) - guy thought he was a real jokester b/c he was carrying all his wife's things around....

*Then there was the6ft 4 sculpture guy - wearing a bright green crossing guard vest. Reminded me a LOT of the Ice Road Trucker "Jack Jesse". But it wasn't him.

*And standing next to him was a 4ft 9 girl who looked all of 16 years old. Talk about a juxtapostion!?!? And to top it off she looked like a smaller version of someone I had a crush on 20 years ago....

*Right behind those folks, and in front of me was Alex a 28 year old Russian who was a dead ringer for Anthony Micheal Hall (see Dead Zone TV series). He was cool - I spent most of my time talking to him. Very interesting dude - even if he was from NJ (and a Rutgers grad to boot {for those not in the know - Rutgers is the NJ equivalent of UConn - and both are in the Big East, so we're rivals}).

*And standing behind me was some weird dude from Manhattan. Half PR half Polish. Dude was wacked to say the least....Stood next to him for 5.5 hrs and never did find out his name....!

*And standing behind him was the bike rider who looked like Julio Igelesias.....and next to him was some skinny (strung-out) 20 year old kid who kept strumming a ukulele. I was going to ask him if he knew the song "Hot Dogs for Hot Dog people", but thought the better of it.

So I finally make it to the "promised land" = inside the museum where there are water fountains and air conditioning. Coulda been the Taj Mahal for all I cared. It was nice.

Finally get up to the 3rd floor and there are 8-9 interview "judges". I get my 3 minutes with a Connecticut native.
First thing I noticed when I sat down was - she had a MOUSTACHE!!!! I'm talkin' 1/4 hairs on the upper lip here....and she had dark hair, so it was kinda pronounced....
I decided to be nice and NOT comment on it. Probably should have = I might have made it into the second round....
She did like my portfolio. Said it was organized and I had a nice range and definitely have my own style.....
Interview over.
Like a camel in the desert I drank heavily from the water fountain before going back out into the heat for the long drive home.

Drive home - got lost again. The street - Washington Ave that should have taken me right to 278 - was closed for construction!!!?!?!??! WTF?
Somehow driving thru some real shady lookin streets (glad it was daylight out) - I managed to get onto 278.
INSANITY:
The toll - 278 going INTO the city had cash on the 2 far left and 2 far right lanes.
The EZPass were the 3 in the middle. 278 going OUT OF the city - left 4 lanes are all EZPass and only 2 far right lanes were cash. So 200 feet from the toll I deftly manuvered across 3 speeding lanes of traffic to get into the left-hand cash lane. 4 NYers wouldn't let me in. Each one got an earful from me - my window down and me yelling racial and ethnic slurs as well as insulting their manners, intelligence and that they were ugly.
I thanked them all with the "Yankee Fan Club" sign = if you don't know what that is, it's when you
wave to someone with only one finger extended....see, now you've learned something new today......Geez.

Anyway, finally get thru that and somehow end up on the Hutch. Wasn't 100% sure if I was going the right way but the towns were going in the correct order they go in from the train - white pains, new rock-hell, mount vermin.
Once I saw the tree that looks like a giant dildo or toilet brush, I knew I was on the right road back. Anyone been on this highway knows what I am talking about. Must be a cell tower that the rich folk complained about, so they put some fake limbs on it - symmetrical no less and hence it looks like the description above. Had I not been so relieved to be heading in the right direction driving @ 76 mph, I might have taken a picture of the thing...

Stopped to pick up a pizza for dinner. Walked in the door just after 6:30 - eleven long hours after I left.
Call backs for inclusion into the second round taking place in BK the very next day. The cutoff for the call backs was 10pm.
10pm came and went = no call back for me.
Sad? Not really. It was an adventure!

Lessons learned:
*some interesting people
*stood out in the heat and sun for 5.5 hours
*drove into BK and found my destination
*got lost leaving, but again found my way - just kept heading north and east....lol
*this is key: got my portfolio together. a 'real' artist has to have an up-to-date portfolio put together. I've got to do several more actually - it's on my list of "to-do's".....
*and another thing - it kept me busy and kept my mind off of the fact that I just lost my job after 14 years......
onward & upward!!!

This is the line in the back of the building when I left.
There were easily 200+ people in back of me.

Close-up of the above picture. See the fruitcake with
the cupcake bicycle?...

2010-05-16T17:26:00.000-07:00

Title: Silver Line
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 10" X 30"
Price: $400

The Shelton-Derby Railroad bridge with a sunset over Derby.
There is an actual silver line in this painting where the railroad tracks are.

Come see my new website!

2010-04-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

Title: RIP Captain Phil
Size: 24" X 48" (2ft by 4ft)
Medium: Acrylic

When Captain Phil passed away earlier this year, I wanted to create a tribute painting. This took nearly two months to complete. I finished this a couple days before the premiere of "Dealiest Catch".

2010-03-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

Rounding out the Review of 2009:

Title: Elena
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 24 X 24
Price: $1000

Title: Fight Club (Commission)
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 18 X 24
Price: SOLD

Title: Monarch
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 24 X 30
Price: $2000

Title: Sunflower Mini
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 2.5 X 2.5
Price: SOLD

Title: Pumpkins Mini
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 2.5 X 2.5
Price: $10

2010-03-13T18:44:00.000-08:00

More 2009 Retrospective!!!!

Title: Pell Bridge
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 9 X 12
Price: SOLD

Title: Girl w/ Pearl Earring (after Vermeer)
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 12 X 9
Price: NFS

Title: Winter Cabin
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 9 X 12
Price: $75

Title: Charles Island 5
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 9 X 12
Price: $75

Title: Charles Island 6
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 9 X 12
Price: $75

2010-03-13T05:10:00.000-08:00

2009 Retrospective Continued ...

Title: Charles Island 1
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 9 X 12
Price: $75

Title: Charles Island 2
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 9 X 12
Price: $75

Title: Charles Island 3
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 9 X 12
Price: $75

Title: Charles Island 4
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 9 X 12
Price: $75

Title: Stratford Lighthouse
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 9 X 12
Price: $75

2010-03-12T16:28:00.000-08:00

2009 Retrospective

Yes, it's been awhile since I've updated this blog. I guess I spent too much time spent on FaceBook and creating art ...!

So the other day an idea came to me. I usually do a "year-end" inventory of the paintings that I've created in the previous year, but had not formally done that yet.
Over the next several days, I will be posting updates - which are really just a look back at what I did last year creative-wise.

Enjoy!

Title: Superman (Commission)
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 30 X 24
Price: SOLD

Title: Matrix (Personal Collection)
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 15 X 30
Price: NFS

Title: Carrie
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 48 X 48
Price: $5000

Title: Peasley (Commission)
Medium: Acrylic
Size: 12 X 9
Price: SOLD

Title: Reid (Commission)
Medium: Acryl ic
Size: 18 X 24
Price: SOLD

Sept. 24, 2009

2009-09-24T04:01:00.001-07:00

Title: 034 Purple Majesty

Size: 30" X 40"

Medium: Acrylic with silver or gold metal frame

Price: $600.00

The crescent moon in the purple sky.

Soft mist rolling through the trees and the hills in the distance.

Definite mood painting - won't last long!

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

Sept. 23, 2009

2009-09-24T03:59:00.001-07:00

Title: 033 Winter Wonderland

Size: 15" X 30" with white metal frame

Medium: Acrylic

Price: $300.00

This painting is a few years old.

Several people have been shown interest, so grab it now while you can!

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

Sept. 22, 2009

2009-09-24T03:56:00.000-07:00

Title: 032 Pacific Sunset

Size: 18" X 24"

Medium: Acrylic with black metal frame

Price: $800.00

Finished during a frenetic Labor Day weekend.

The soft orange sun setting into the Pacific Ocean sets a mood.

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

August 31, 2009

2009-08-30T17:17:00.001-07:00

Title: 031 Blue Forest

Size: 12" X 24"

Medium: Acrylic

Price: $120.00

Done around the same time as Green Forest. They can go together if you're looking for two paintings....

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

August 30, 2009

2009-08-30T17:13:00.001-07:00

Title: 030 Green Forest

Size: 12" X 24"

Medium: Acrylic

Price: $120.00

This painting is a few years old. Possibly from 2005 or earlier. If you like the color green, then this is the painting for you!

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

August 24, 2009

2009-08-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

Title: 024 Red Skies at Night

Size: 24" X18"

Medium: Acrylic

SOLD

One of the oldest pieces I'm selling through this.

My full name is the signature - one of the very few I've ever signed this way.

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

August 23, 2009

2009-08-24T17:27:00.001-07:00

Title: 023 Sunflowers Number 6

Size: 15" X 30"

Medium: Acrylic

Price: $150.00

I created this painting in the summer of 2007. It was briefly in a show at the Woodbridge, CT library.

Another one of the very few sunflowers that are being sold at these ridiculous low prices!!!!

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

August 20, 2009

2009-08-24T17:19:00.001-07:00

Title: 020 Sacrifice

Size: 18" X 24"

Medium: Acrylic

Price: $200.00

I created this for an exhibit fall of 2008.

The event went rather badly and I left quite angrily (art, like a lot of other things has politics involved, so let's just
leave it at that).

This piece originally was offered for $500.00.

It's a STEAL @ $200.00

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

August 18, 2009

2009-08-24T17:14:00.001-07:00

Title: 018 Love or Confusion

Size: 10" X 26"

Medium: Acrylic

Price: $100.00

Another frenetic intensely colorful work.

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

August 17, 2009

2009-08-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

Title: 017 Still Waters

Size: 13" X 10" with thick black wood frame and glass

Medium: Watercolor & Acrylic

Price: $50.00

This is an older watercolor - circa 1995. It reminded me of a cross stitch picture my granmother made a couple decades ago.

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

August 15, 2009

2009-08-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

Title: 015 Time Enough At Last

Size: 20" X 16" with thin metal black frame

Medium: Acrylic

Price: $150.00

Another abstract - this is one of my favorites.

The clock in the middle of the painting is what gives the title it's meaning (if any).

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

August 11, 2009

2009-08-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

Title: 011 Hollister St. Stratford

Size: 10" X 20"

Medium: Acrylic

Price: $60.00

This view is from a photo taken from the porch of the house I grew up in.

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

August 10, 2009

2009-08-12T18:50:00.001-07:00

Title: 010 Space Seed

Size: 10" X 14"

Medium: Acrylic

SOLD

Another older painting.

This one was fun to do.

I flung the paint with a painting knife.

Made quite a mess - but that's what painters do!

August 7, 2009

2009-08-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

Title: 007 Purple Sunset

Size: 12" X 24" w/ thin black metal frame

Medium: Acrylic

Price: $60.00

A winter scene at the end of the day.

Another painting that is at least 10 years old.

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net

August 5, 2009

2009-08-05T18:18:00.001-07:00

Title: 005 Long Island Sailing
Size: 16" X 20" - with cherrywood colored frame
Medium: Acrylic
SOLD

I saw these sailboats off the coast of Milford and wanted to put the feeling onto canvas.
The sun gently setting in the distance sets the serene mood.

August 4, 2009

2009-08-04T17:38:00.001-07:00

Title: 004 Halfway River in Sandy Hook, CT
Size: 10" X 8" - with white mat and black wooden frame included
Medium: Watercolor and Acrylic
Price: $45.00

I did this painting a few years ago. The painting came about after seeing some sketches and photgraphs of the Halfway River. The Halfway River runs behind what used to be Stevenson Lumber (they went out of business last year). One of my friends lived up the road from this scene and we went hiking out there all the time.
I tried to convey the almost idyllic peacefulness that was there - one of the few spots you can find this in Fairfield County....

If you're interested in this painting, send me an email: lengrayeck@comcast.net