THE FIRST 32 YEARS

AFTER THE FALL 60HX96W

I put myself in the middle of Christian themes although I am not religious, I do relate to Biblical stories. Adam and Eve have been expelled from the Garden of Eden. They run across Michelangelo’s hand of God. The apple, the snake, the donkey and a pregnant Mary, the child who wants attention, vultures. There are angels and surfers approach the waves. Both of these pieces I used some soft pastel to intensify the color.

ESCAPE THE GRID 60Hx96W

When I left Los Angeles in 1974, the Talking Heads’ You May Find Yourself song played on my car radio as I endlessly traveled Freeways. I worked as a graphic designer and set information into grids. It was Mid Century Modern, but we called it Danish Modern and Swiss Design. Life was comfortable but I felt stuck. I had to get out. Recently I revisited that time imagining a guy who “finds himself” Is this my beautiful house? Is this my beautiful wife? The tiles are the grid. There is a Hockney SoCal pool, dancing guys frolic while the couple do Sunday brunch inside their beautiful grid. After I finished this piece, I left it up for a couple months. It needed something. One afternoon I thought about David Byrne’s lyrics picked up a pen and wrote, first in the sky, then gave each character including the cats a chance to speak, basically like a cartoon.

LORD OF THE LIES 60HX96W

2024 And TRUMP was running a second time. I had to react and I did with this cartoonish mural. It is everything ugly and gross I could think of, giant flies, maggots, bloodied cut off heads. I needed to make Trump and his autocrat buddies as awful as possible, but I found space in the middle Duke Kahanamoku. At least we have good and beauty still among us.