Al Carrell: You were expecting Janet Leigh maybe? Well folks have referred to me as a psycho, but as you can see, I'm cleaning up my act. Actually, this colorful shower curtain painting is called "The Shower Scene" and it was inspired by the Hitchcock thriller. Artist Brian Pudder has created an imaginative line of hand-painted shower curtains.
Brian Pudder: I kind of developed the art of taking a shower. Everybody has wall space that they usually don't think about and that's right in their bathroom. So I thought if you could make that a real vivid art statement then that would allow you a really interesting starting point in which to build your bathroom.
AC: Pudder's line currently consists of nine designs. Each is bold and colorful and reflects the artist sense of humor.
BP: The inspiration behind the actual concepts of the shower curtains pretty much stems from the fact that I think showers are fun things to do. And there's a certain amount of whimsy in everything I paint because I find the kind of people that buy my shower curtain paintings are people that really want to decorate their homes with something unique, something that's really hand-painted, something that nobody else has.
AC: With paint and hardware elements that add unexpected interest, Pudder transforms inexpensive plastic shower curtains into giant canvasses.
BP: The first question I'm asked is, "What kind of paints do you use?" Well, they're acrylics and usually they're right out of the tube or I'll custom mix a color, but they adhere to the plastic like iron. When I finish the painting I seal it with a waterproofer.
AC: In several of his curtains Pudder intentionally paints around a clear area.
BP: And I'll leave that clear space open, 'cause I think a lot of times these particular shower curtain painting designs aren't complete until someone takes a shower. When they step behind the curtain suddenly their face is in a fishbowl or maybe their belly button shows through a frame - something fun.
AC: Like "Bathroom with a View" each painting has a clever title that helps tell their story.
BP: "Looks like Showers" is one that's based kind of on the ranching heritage, that I took a black and white motif which is kind of a Holstein cow or pony print, and I've turned the black sections into clouds. As you look closely you can kind of see different things like a herd of horses with a cowboy getting him into the barn 'cause showers are approaching. I've taken Live Oak twigs that I've whittled down and wrapped with bright colored thread, that just for fun we have fixed those on there so it looks like all the horses and the cowboys are running along this fence to get into the barn before the showers hit. This one I call "Eyedrops". Wouldn't it be funny to show a giant person taking a bath? So when you put this actually into your bathtub, the eyeline is right above the edge of the bathtub so it looks like someone is peering up over the edge of your bathtub. If you look closely the highlights in the pupils are in the shape of drops.
AC: Forget how to wash your hair? Just follow these instructions written in French. Pudder added the directions after he noticed them while he was taking a shower. And "Nude in Shower" is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the extravagant excesses of the old masters.
BP: I started that with the fact that old paintings of nudes usually has those big old gold ornate frames. So I actually put on a little wooden frame on each of these shower curtains and that one, as some of the others, is really completed when someone takes a shower.
Contacts:
Slammin Screen Door: 512-832-1457
Episode 51 1997 - 98 Season
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