FOR KYLE (GIFTED)

8″ x 10″ Oil on Paper

I didn’t think streets like mine existed anymore. There are a lot of kids in my neighborhood. They’re always outside playing games or riding bikes together. It reminds me of the neighborhood I grew up in. We are always outside doing something, not sitting in the house all day on the computer or in front of the TV. So, when Kyle and Zack pulled up on their bikes while I was painting and the first thing I hear is whoa! That is so cool! I knew the words “can I have it” were coming next. Sure enough there they were and Kyle had got himself a painting. I’m a sucker for kids what can I say?

BURNT TOAST IN BED

10″ x 10″ Mixed Media on Paper

Our friend Joe was back home from London, England for a bit and came over to visit.  I was working on the project as usual and thought I’d get him in on it.  I did a little version of the Rorschach test on him, but only for this one image.  “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you look at this?”  Burnt Toast in Bed was born.  Do you see what Joe sees or is there some other image in your mind?

BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL

24″ x 36″ Aerosol on Paper

Forty day tear. Got road-wear. No-doz braking. Breaking, breaker. Caffeine shakes. Can’t feel my legs. Three quarters dead. Motel ahead. Just give me a table and a single shed. Just give me cable and a single bed. Have a ray gun. Sleep tight son. Desk man’s got a face, like Norman  Bates. Don’t let it outta the box!. Yeah the blue light is good. Yeah the blue light is great. Gotta pile it on, your Blue Light Special plate. If you shovel it in, they can vacuum you out. Gonna take you on a junket. That you never dreamed  about.  ~Bottle Rocket

IN THE BEGINNING

18″ x 24″ Mixed Media on Paper

What was it like before highways?  Before drive through food lines?  Before money?  How did we go from living off the land to living on the couch?  Where are all of our gardens?  Our outdoor fun?  Why are some people’s phones more important than their personalities?  Where are we headed?  Is it the right direction?  What was the world like in the beginning?  What were we before all of this?

LIFE IS BACKWARDS

18″ x 24″ Mixed Media on Paper

Life can be backwards at times.  Bad things happen to good people.  People who are trying to live within the rules of the systems that have been established to “help” them.  Just when things are going great…POW!… a set back.  The rich get richer and just want more.  People go hungry, but our grocery stores throw out food everyday.  People buy purses and jeans that cost hundreds of dollars, yet can’t seem to find some change to help someone down on their luck.  There are wars for peace. Try to be good.  Try to help out where and when you can.  We are all here together.  The human family.

DO YOU SEE IT

18″ x 24″ Mixed Media on Paper

There’s really nothing in this painting to find, is there?  Unless you look hard enough for it.  Some people will see it and others won’t.  Like those magic eye pictures.  Can you see it?  If you can guess what it is… you win.  There’s nothing I swear.  Well maybe…

RED SCHOOL

18″ x 24″ Mixed Media on Paper

I want to live in the sea.  I want to be a small fish and travel the world with my family and pack of good friends.  There’d be no jobs or house/yard work and we’d eat our meals along the journeys.  We’d get to see so many cool places and meet other schools from around the world.  They would tell us where they’ve been and what they’ve seen.  I want to be free in the ocean drifting around with nothing to worry about.

STOP ‘n’ SMELL

18″ x 24″ Mixed Media on Paper

Sometime you’ve got to.  But I like the smell of fresh cut grass more.  Smell the roses.  It doesn’t do it for me.  Just do it.  Nothing.  Nothing?  Yeah, I still think the grass is better.  Whatevs!  It’s nothing personal and it’s just a saying anyways?  What?  Yeah, really…

WHAT I WANTED

11″ x 15″ Mixed Media on Watercolor Paper

This is not what I wanted to draw.  This is not what I wanted to paint.  Or is it?  Is it the other way around?  This is what I wanted to draw.  This is what I wanted to paint.  I don’t know which I wanted to do or not do, but this is what I came up with.

LIVE UP

11″ x 15″ Mixed Media on Watercolor Paper

Rastaman live up. Bongoman don’t give up. Congoman live up, yeah. Binghi-man don’t give up.  Keep your culture. Don’t be afraid of the vulture. Grow your dread lock. Don’t be afraid of the wolf-pack. 

CLEAN UP

10″ x 10″ Mixed Media on Paper

This is one of my clean up pieces.  I use the paper to clean off the extra paint on the tools used to create the larger pieces.  These works are not ever really planned and just kind of happen as I go along.