NEW PAINTING: Orange Crush Retrograde

Orange Crush Retrograde 3 panels – each panel measures 23.75″ x 32″ (61cm x 81cm) • oil & acrylic on wood

Orange Crush Retrograde - Panel 1 of 3

Orange Crush Retrograde - Panel 2 of 3

Orange Crush Retrograde - Panel 3 of 3

Retrograde Series

In late 2009 I started a group of multi-paneled paintings called the Retrograde Series. The paintings are an exploration of the memories, questions, sights, sounds, tastes of my youth, and their juxtaposition against each other, and the world around me decades later.

With Orange Crush Retrograde I dive down that rabbit hole once more. A memory of sitting on a bar stool next to my Grandfather, feet dangling high above the floor drinking an Orange Crush soda, blends with a memory of hearing Madonna tell Dick Clark that she wanted to “rule the world”. I wonder about the long and short term effects of war being a constant backdrop to the American paradigm, and that butts up against the fondness I had for my armies of little plastic men.

The composition is split into panels and cropped to exaggerate the idea that no one part of the composition is supposed to make a clear definitive conclusion about what the images mean as a whole. The hope is that something new exists for each viewer, and it is up to the individual to decide what answers exist within.

(See the first piece in the series, “Bazooka Retrograde”, here)

Sketch of the Day: Handplant

Sketch of the Day 1-26-2010: Handplant

Based off of a photo taken in 1986 by Steve Caballero.

Sketch of the Day: 3 Faces

Sketch of the Day 1-22-2010: 3 Faces

Sketch of the Day: CO OP

Sketch of the Day 1-20-2010: CO OP
Inspired by a 2008 U.S. cross-country roadtrip.

Arriving nowhere.
Road trip pit stop for food and gas.
Nite crawlers for sale.

Inspiration: Music As An Ingredient

Where do I find inspiration? As an artist I am often asked this question. The answers are infinite so my response is usually broad and goes something like this: I discover it through exploring, experiencing, and questioning both the world around me, and the people in it. That is true, but when I think about the question a little more, there is a facet to my answer that is left out, and that is music. From the time a concept finds it’s way to me, and throughout the process of executing it onto a canvas or in my sketchbook, music is the glue that seems to bind it all together in my head.
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Work in Progress: Orange Crush Retrograde – 80% Complete

In late 2009 I started a group of multi-paneled paintings called the Retrograde Series (See the first piece, “Bazooka Retrograde”, here). Below is the work in progress of the next addition to the series, “Orange Crush Retrograde”.

Orange Crush Painting - Phase 3 of 4
Basecoat of Robin is added in. (Next phase = adding in all the details)

Orange Crush Painting - Phase 2 of 4
Basecoats of Madonna and purple soldiers.
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Sketch of the Day 1-5-2009: Springsteen

Sketch of the Day 1-5-2009: Springsteen
This sketch was inspired by a trip to the gym and the question – “What would you want your theme song to be?” Read more here.

Sketch of the Day: Bariloche Hike – Day 1

Bariloche Hike - Day 1

The above sketch and words were inspired by a visit to Bariloche, Argentina, a mountain town in the hear of the Andes. Check out the complete blog entry here.


Bariloche Hike – Day 1
We walk, pack laden.
Over gnarled stone
and through tombstone trees.
On the ridge we stop for water.
I hear only wind
and plastic bottles.
And then Danny’s harmonica.
Dead forest blues.

Sketch of the Day: San Telmo Bass

San Telmo Bass
The above sketch and haiku were inspired by a visit to the big Sunday market in San Telmo, a barrio of Buenos Aires.

“San Telmo market
Street performer serenade.
Cobbled and alive
.”

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Plastic Soldier

PLASTIC SOLDIER | 9″x12″ (23cm x 30cm) | oil & acrylic on canvas | 2010 | AVAILABLE