Thursday, February 4th, 2010
3 panels – each panel measures 23.75″ x 32″ (61cm x 81cm) • oil & acrylic on wood
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.
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Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Based off of a photo taken in 1986 by Steve Caballero.
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Sunday, January 24th, 2010
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Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Inspired by a 2008 U.S. cross-country roadtrip.
Arriving nowhere.
Road trip pit stop for food and gas.
Nite crawlers for sale.
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Friday, January 15th, 2010
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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Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
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”.
Basecoat of Robin is added in. (Next phase = adding in all the details)
Basecoats of Madonna and purple soldiers.
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Saturday, January 9th, 2010
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.
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Wednesday, December 30th, 2009
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.
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Monday, December 7th, 2009
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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Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
The above sketch was inspired by a visit to the neighborhood of La Boca in Buenos Aires, specifically the area of it known as Caminito.
La Boca
Next to the murky waters
of an old port canal
we walk on cobblestone
through corrugated tin colors.
Accordians and meaty grills
waft in the damp air.
Vendors line the streets
selling tourist trinkets.
I look for something
amidst the pulsing square.
Something that isn’t frill.
Finally I find it
hovering like a ghost
in the reverence
of an old man
and his polished violin.
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