Wanting for More

For the first time that I can recall, I woke up from a bad dream to go to the bathroom and as soon as I fell asleep again, I picked up where I left off?  Yes, a continuation of the same bad dream, just the next chapter over.  Isn't that the whole concept of waking up from a bad dream, to end the damn thing?  The dream was as lucid as it gets, in a bad way -- so why on earth would I want from more?

Photograph: "Gas Mask for TEOTWAWKI" taken with Fuji Instax camera, 2012

Windsurfer In The Bay (2012)

Language...has created the word "loneliness" to express the pain of being alone.  And it has created the word "solitude" to express the glory of being alone.

-Paul Tillich

I  took this photograph earlier this year of a lone windsurfer in the San Francisco bay.  Late May, overcast, and I was comfortably sitting inside a boat that traveled across the bay to the Golden Gate bridge and back to Pier 39 when out of the corner of my eye, I caught this white sliver of a sail over to the north.  The wind was as cold as late spring gets and I can't help but think how liberating it must be to hear only your heartbeat, your breath and the wind.

Good Enough To Frame?

As soon as I finish a drawing, trying to decide what to do with it is usually not that simple of a process. Since most of my art is drawing nowadays, putting a piece of paper away is a lot easier than stashing canvas.  I finished a 4-panel drawing recently and a friend asked if I was going to frame it and only then did I really think about the question as to what is good enough to frame.  For the most part, I think it's a subjective filter that gets applied, one that I admit could be as arbitrary as how I'm feeling that day when I make the decision.  The good thing about framing drawings is the fact that it's not permanent.  Should I change my mind at some point, it's easy enough to replace.  So I went through my storage closet and pulled all the drawings that I had framed over the years but haven't had enough courage to hang on my walls.  As typical with my indecision, good enough to frame doesn't necessarily mean good enough to hang.

8-Yr Old Print

Photograph of Santa Barbara Harbor taken in December 2004.  Printed and framed and sat in my closet for 8 years.

'Nuff Said

Monomorphs (2012)

What seems like shapeless blobs are actually monomorphic in nature.  There is a certain invariance between every figure in this 4-panel drawing.  Each panel is actually the inside of blank Thank You cards I have sitting around.  What I want the viewer to see at the macro level is distinctly different than upon closer examination.  I represent the inner structure in terms of movement of the monomorphs, inspired by the dynamic interplay of the molecules that make up life at the cellular level.

Joshua Tree Obsession

I've been fascinated with Joshua trees for a while now so when I found this postcard from 1947 at the PCC Flea Market today, I didn't think twice.  Back then, what is now Joshua Tree National Park was just a national monument.  The front of the postcard says:

"It is believed the early Mormons gave this giant Yucca its name, seeing in it's grotesquely extended arms a symbol pointing tot he promised land they were seeking."

This time of the year is the best time to visit this part of the desert and given the date stamp on the postcard of Dec 29, 1947, it gives me an idea of maybe a day trip during the holiday break.  Below are some image of Joshua trees I've taken over the years, typically somewhere in the high desert in California.  I would never hesitate to stop the car and stand next to these towering Yuccas.

Of course, the most famous Joshua tree of all is the one from "The Joshua Tree" album by that Irish band as shown below on the inside cover.  Yeah, back when music was actually packaged in somewhat decent artform.  The U2 images were taken by photographer Anton Corbijn.