GLITTER BUG: Roberts’ “Paradise” on display at the Magnolia Gallery.

Dan Paul Roberts is an unstoppable creative force. His alter ego, Candi Shell, sings for She-Dick, Dallas' electro-drag band. And in December, he joined The C.P.R. Collective, a new group where Roberts meshes his drawing and painting skills on the same canvases as silkscreener Mike Arreaga and photographer Hal Samples.

Last week, Roberts kicked off another show at the Magnolia Gallery, the space off the Magnolia Theatre lobby.

The eight canvases all contain the signature "Roberts' sparkle" and that would be the glitter he sprinkles over his nonrepresentational paintings. In the artist's statement that accompanies the show, Roberts explains that his artistic vision stems from a childhood spent in Wichita Falls "playing Barbies, talking to angels and drawing for hours on end."

Roberts' shapes and forms are trippy and serene like snapshots of alpine tundras melting into cool pastels. He incorporates iron-on letters, puffy paint, beads, Sharpie markers, and latex and vinyl paints. There is a signature piece: "Paradise," which contains a mesmerizing figure that's like a futuristic hybrid of insect and club-kid.
Magnolia Gallery, through Feb 5.

See what we’ve been missing? A&F’s current soft-core campaign.

Aberzombie quarterly is back

Tim Gunn says after 30, gay men shouldn't wear Abercrombie & Fitch. But that doesn't mean we can't look.

Four years ago, A&F stopped publishing their gorgeous quarterlies mainly because "family values" complainers in the U.S. said Bruce Webber's black-and-white images were just soft-core porn. Now it's estimated that gay bookstores sell vintage quarterlies for $95.

Well, Webber and his lusty imagination are back in business. The A&F fashion craze is taking London by storm, and the quarterly is re-entering the publishing trade. But it will only be available in the U.K.


Register for Bishop Arts Free Range Project

Mark Lombard, who helms the Nodding Dog Caf? and Bistro, is hoping to lure some more visual talent in Oak Cliff. Next month, he's helping launch the Bishop Arts District Free Range Art Project, a weekend painting competition (Feb 23-24).

Artists are encouraged to showcase local area landmarks and points of interest as the subject matter. Using any medium on canvas, entrants will devote the first day to painting their chosen subjects: a canvas and easel will be provided with entry. An exhibition, jury, and auction of the artwork will be held the second day.

Prizes will be awarded in all divisions, including adult, student, youth and professional. A majority of the proceeds of the auctioned items will be retained by the respective artist, with fractional shares going to area historic preservation efforts and Arts District improvements. Entry fees: $15-$35, based on age division.

Registration ends Jan. 15. To register, visit FreeRangeArtProject.com.



This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition January 11, 2008