California Spring
Artwork Notes
These paintings contain notes, thoughts, and written scribblings for those inclined to read…
Split the Difference
On that day we harnessedHistory’s joyousLaughterBut there was nobodyAround to hear itSo instead weSplitThe difference
California Storm
We came to this mountain in search of goldWe’ll leave with pockets full of solitudeWe speak to the windWe are here nowEverything else is goneThe cars and housesThe monies and the mediaThe interconnected web of information thatTies us all togetherNone of that can truly exist at all We know because we’ve listened to the quietThat […]
A Break in the Rain
All the while the day grows darkerAnd nothing dry is left.The eternal endurance of water has won,And now even what’s wrong is right.You can see it, but you cannot understand itNothing more can be doneBut surrender beneath the weight of it allAnd beWashed AwayThis is what it is to be human
Approaching Storm
Wishing for another momentTo captureTheInconvenient gazeOf a child’sBrightAnd silent futureBefore they comeTo haul it all away
Restricted Access
We never did imagineThe goldenAccelerationOf our free fallWould yield… Such high rentFor apartments so small AndSo many left turns AndNo rights at all
Mid-Morning
Beckoning
Each passing stormBrings a clearingOf mindRevealingSpiral rhythmsOf colorIn your eyesBoth fragileAnd totally free
No Fires
House of Prayer
These trembling walls danceWith their Maker’s invisible spiritAs we wage war on tomorrow’s past Victory was better an hour agoAnd defeat is a low-tide Rising
Above and Below
One world aboveAnd another belowIt might be heaven up thereButDown hereWe live in our vans
Lined Up
Nuclear Sunrise
On that day we harnessedHistory’s joyousLaughterBut there was nobodyAround to hear itSo instead weSplitThe difference
Empty
They’ll happily share with youEach and every wave you rideWhether you like itOr not But then again…They’ll also cook you up a cup of Dutch CoffeeIn the parking lot
American Paradox
Under watchful eyesWe pretend the machineryWill clean up the remains of our freedomsLost forever to the systematic fire We burn your moneyAndWeep with your love
The One that Got Away
They fish for meaningThere’s tension in the lineOnce they’ve caught our driftThey will place a hook in its jaw And skewer the guts from the living truth Until nothing is left Between us and them But a line or twoHardly worth repeating
October Groundswell
Rising and falling like the tideAnd yet they are surprised when their stocks don’t rise and rise and rise One October they fellA negative low-tide The panic that followed scorched a thousand cigarettesAnd left ‘em where they lie While their shaking hands still burned with fearWe tip-toed past the madness as the tide slowly filled […]
Surf Check Daydream
Waxing Moon
My favorite story about this one isn’t my story at all. It’s something a Patagonia employee said the first time they saw this piece in the back of my van in their HQ parking lot in Ventura, California. It went something like this: “This is heavy, no way, check it out, when you look to […]
Afternoon Mourning
She loved it here beneath these colder mountainsBut now she is gone And even now, after all this timeI’m still struggling to say goodbye
Overlook
Daybreak
A fine lineDivides the pursuitOf overwhelming joyFrom sheerAnd loathsomeIrresponsibility The high tide lineDividesThe rest Consider us dividedAndConquered Even the SpaniardsOn the tall shipsKnow… Both victoryAnd defeatTaste betterWith a dash of saltAnd lime
Afternoon on the Coast Route
Shoebox Series XII
Happy Cows
While painting this one from behind a rusty barbwire fence running along the overgrowth by the riverbank, I had an odd thought of what would happen if a cow came charging down the little path I was on. I sorta game-planned how I would step back into a little clearing behind my easel to let […]