One world aboveAnd another belowIt might be heaven up thereButDown hereWe live in our vans
Above and Below
Artwork Notes
These paintings contain notes, thoughts, and written scribblings for those inclined to read…
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
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 […]
Trying to Paint in the Rain
Backside of the Dunes
California Poppies
After this piece I came to the conclusion that the nearly unbearable intensity of the color of California poppies in bright sunshine may just be one of nature’s cruelest tricks ever hoisted upon unsuspecting plein air painters. It’s just not fair, really.
Skunked
This was the first full studio landscape I completed after spending about 2 years pretty much exclusively painting outdoors. The outdoor approach ended up completely altering my approach to painting in general. Most of the studio landscape work I’ve done in more recent years that folks know me best for wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t […]
First Hike Up the Canyon
The Top of the Canyon
This is from way up the canyon, to the top of the ridge from where it starts. If I painted the scene behind my back you’d be looking at the 5 freeway or the toll road or something near Irvine and a bunch of strip malls and houses. But hiking up here from the trailhead […]