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Eaker's Barber Shop - An Edwardsville Legacy

It may be the lack of hair on my head that caused me to compensate by creating a painting of Eaker's Family Barbershop, but the draw to this small town family barbershop proves otherwise.

Eaker's Barbershop, oil on canvas, 30 x 30 inches

Eaker's Barbershop, oil on canvas, 30 x 30 inches

Eaker's has a long history in Edwardsville. Many of my friends, their parents and my friend's children all still come here. 227 North Main Street is still a first-come-first-serve traditional family barbershop. You can buy a soda, a candy bar, read a magazine play with toys (kids can, too). What I like best is that we can chit chat with our neighbors, and sometimes even hear a little town gossip. My boys like the four pieces of candy they get. Enough to wake me up at 6:00 am to be assured we are first in line.

I bring my three boys here, and have for years. Kari's been able to watch them grow, and consult with me, "I don't think we should cut their curls, just yet, I don't think Shawna would be happy when you got home." She may have even saved my marriage with advice like that. 

This slice of small town life is the reason I chose it as subject matter. And why I chose my painting of Eaker's Barbershop as the hero image for my upcoming show two doors down on the Gogh-Getter's Gallery inside Sacred Grounds Cafe and Coffeeshop. I think the image resonates with people who have experienced Eaker's first hand.  

And, if you have any need for a local, small-town, family friendly barbershop. Don't miss the chance to meet Kari. You'll experience why I immortalized the barbershop in oils. 

Eaker's Barbershop Giclée Print
Eaker's Barbershop Giclée Print
from $18.75

You are purchasing a signed Giclée print of the painting Eaker's Barbershop by Steve Hartman. The original painting is no longer for sale, this is the only availability to purchase this image.

It is printed on high quality, museum-grade, archival paper with archival inks that will last 200 years.

This unframed print is offered in two options:

12 × 12 inches with image size of 11 x 11 inches with 1 inch border. Signed and numbered in a limited edition of 100

6 x 6 inches with image size of 4 x 4 inches with 1 inch border. Signed by the artist, not a limited edition print.

Each print is personally signed and carefully shipped to you in a protective clear sleeve and sturdy mailer.

Orders will print and ship in the order they are received. Expect delivery within 2-3 weeks of online purchase.

Once Upon a Town - A Fairytale Painting

Once Upon a Town at the Jacoby Arts Center

Once upon a time, earlier this year, a local toy store was closing their doors due to a called small business loan. The towns people of Edwardsville rallied behind the friendly folks at Happy Up Toys, owners of Once Upon a Toy, by creating a social media frenzy to save the toy store. With a crowd funding campaign to raise the necessary $75,000 to secure the loan, the community of toy-loving fans succeeded by raising more than enough to keep the land of play open. 

I was honored to be a part of the community that made it happen. The experience was an inspirational event showcasing peoples ability to come together for a common cause... helping a neighbor in need. The experience was powerful enough to me to create Once Upon a Town that celebrates the true fairytale story.  

mmmmmmmm. Bacon.

Who doesn't love bacon?! Even my most Jewish of friends love the stuff, or at very least salivate at its mere mention. As a culinary want-a-be myself, bacon is breathing. And still, my son loves it more than I do. 

As most culinary challenges that peek my curiosity, the makin' of bacon presented itself as my next cooking challenge. With one call to my local butcher, Edwardsville Frozen Foods, I was awarded with nine pounds of pork belly. Eight days of brining, two hours of smoking and 10 minutes of frying later, this is what I created:

fried_bacon.jpg

A lot of my paintings are inspired, or come directly from images that I have captured with my iPhone and shared on my Instagram feed. My painting, Slabs of Bacon, is an adapted oil painting from one such Instagram image:

slab_bacon.jpg

While I might not be the right artist to paint a photo-realist painting of a photo like the one above, I certainly was the right artist to attempt to paint Slabs of Bacon in my own style. What developed is what I think is a real quirky and funny painting ... of bacon. Why I chuckle at it, I don't know. Maybe its the idea of the simplicity of slabs of meat on a cutting board. Maybe its funny how bacon has exploded into a pop-culture phenomenon, and now its being immortalized in an oil painting. I don't know, but bacon makes me happy, and so does this painting. What do you think of it?

Slabs of Bacon
$625.00

Slabs of Bacon
oil on canvas
30" x 30"