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“My Art Journey: Painting and Perspectives"
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A Snowman’s Painting: Unexpected Commentary on Modern Life
This quirky snowman painting yells about cell phones, blending humor and holiday vibes with bold strokes and raw energy. It presents a funny, messy take on modern life, breaking the holiday mold by calling out our phone addiction with humor and bold strokes. Through a snowman’s eyes, the painting offers a chaotic yet humorous reminder to step away from screens, urging us to look up and laugh, all wrapped up in "Seasons Greetings."
"Who’ll Stop the Snow? A Holiday Painting with a Message"
This isn’t just holiday art—it’s a protest, a conversation starter, and maybe even a little bit of therapy for me. The reindeer’s human-like expression really hits you, almost like it’s asking, 'Hey, who will stop the snow?' The relentless snow could be a metaphor for how overwhelming the holidays, or even life, can feel
The Chaos of Christmas: A Painting and a Question
Every year, someone stares at my painting and asks about the text, ‘What does it mean?’ Honestly, that’s my favorite part—leaving people to figure it out like they’re cracking a code. Christmas has turned into this wild mix of sacred and commercial, where somewhere in the chaos, the original meaning seems to have slipped out the back door. My painting isn’t a lecture; it’s a messy, loud celebration where the sacred and the absurd shake hands awkwardly.
The Studio Christmas Tree: A Holiday Tradition on Canvas
This year, I didn’t just want a Christmas tree in my studio, I needed one. Instead of hauling in a real or fake tree, I painted a 4-foot by 7-foot tree on canvas, capturing the festive spirit in an efficient, creative way. Forget needles on the floor, tangled lights, and curious pets; a painted Christmas tree is a pet-friendly, space-saving solution that you can roll up and reuse every year. It’s messy, vibrant, and totally unique. Just like the holidays. Every brushstroke of my painted tree tells a story, celebrating the messy, joyful spirit of the season. It’s imperfect in the best way, making it a cherished holiday tradition in my studio.
The Perfect Baby Gift – Why a Landscape Painting is Just Right
A landscape painting makes a unique and timeless baby gift, offering a personal and sentimental touch that a child can grow into. Imagine giving a baby their very first oil painting. It is a piece that evolves from nursery décor to a lifelong keepsake. Landscapes are calming, universal, and abstract enough to spark creativity. As a daily painter, I love creating textured, impressionistic pieces with palette knives that feel both meaningful and fun. Art is more than decoration, it is a connection, a gift that stands the test of time and grows with the child, sharing something meaningful beyond mere aesthetics.
Painting for the Green Bay Packers: My Art at Lambeau Field
One of the most rewarding experiences of my career was seeing my work displayed in Lambeau Field, a legendary stadium that embodies the passion, dedication, and creativity of football. Football, like art, is about emotion and movement, visible in every play on the field and every brushstroke on the canvas. Creating art for Lambeau Field allowed me to capture not just the history of the Packers but also the essence of what makes football so beautiful and inspiring. My love for the Packers goes way back to the 1960s, when I had a friend from Green Bay, and we spent a couple of weeks one summer hanging out at the practice field. Back then, you could sit on the bench with the players, chatting with legends like Ray Nitschke and Fuzzy Thurston.
What a Tiny Painting Taught Me About Scale
I've always leaned toward painting large. Most of my landscapes measure at least 5 by 6 feet, with some stretching to 4 by 8 feet. Enter my new obsession: small-scale impressionistic landscapes. These pieces are tiny compared to what I’m used to—think 5 by 7 inches instead of feet. Despite its size, that painting felt enormous and practically dominated his living room. How did the artist pull that off? I still don’t know.
Why I Painted a Lifeguard
California State Parks lifeguard tryouts aren’t just a test—they’re a proving ground for grit and skill. Six-foot waves, rip currents, and a 1,000-yard swim push people to their limits, and I was there to document the resilience of these heroes. My painting captures one lifeguard’s quiet strength amid the chaos. This 8.5-foot acrylic painting celebrates the courage and determination of California’s State Parks lifeguards, who train to keep us safe against the odds.
Sports Art Brings Personality to Home Décor
Sports art isn’t just for man caves or offices anymore; a photo of my black-and-white baseball piece hung in a bedroom taught me how versatile and personal sports-themed décor can be. Seeing how people use my sports art in their homes always surprises me, and in this case, it was a perfectly balanced bedroom design that quietly celebrated baseball. A designer used my sports art to create a bedroom that felt calm but personal, not loud or distracting—just a reflection of the homeowner’s passion.
Landscape Painting Process: Chaos, Lines, and Instinct
My landscape art process is driven by rhythm, instinct, and letting the canvas guide me, without following any rules. I paint anywhere—beaches, foothills, fields—because the location doesn't matter. It's all about the lines, colors, and the rhythm of the process. Painting is trial and error; I put paint down, move it around, and stop when I'm too tired to keep going, then grab another canvas.
Skateboarder Art: More Than Tricks and Stunts
My painting of a skateboarder at Ventura Point captures more than motion; it’s about the pause. She’s standing on the promenade, looking at the waves. It’s not about showing off—it’s about soaking in the moment, the connection between land, sea, and wheels. That’s what skateboarding feels like: finding calm between the chaos.
An Artist's Reflection on Abstract Art
Some people just can't handle the fact that Picasso and Pollock exist. They want nothing more than a steady diet of fruit bowls and horse portraits. But you know what they say - if a bunch of bright shapes on a canvas is enough to rock your worldview, maybe that's your problem, not mine.
Why I Paint the Tidepools.
Tidepools are like little worlds on their own—a reminder of nature’s small-scale beauty, alive and full of mystery. These miniature ocean pockets show the sea’s larger rhythms. It’s nature’s way of showing us life in the overlooked, and I try to bring this in my art.
The Art of a Left-Handed Catcher
This painting captures the rare essence of a left-handed catcher in baseball, a player rewriting the rules of the game. With laser throws to third base without standing up, this catcher defies tradition and embodies grit, skill, and rebellion. The artwork explores the challenges left-handed catchers face, showing the thrill of breaking norms with powerful throws and fierce determination. It’s a striking portrayal of an unconventional player redefining what it means to own the plate.
Finding Reality in Abstract Painting
I’m not painting exact scenes or locations – it's more like closing my eyes and feeling the ocean, imagining that wild surf crashing, the water swirling, the waves pulling back and then charging forward again. To me, it’s about capturing that raw, alive feeling of being in that moment – like standing chest-deep in the ocean, completely lost in it
A Cat's Critique: Finding Art in the Everyday
When your toughest art critic is a cat with opinions about mountains, you know you're in for an interesting day in the studio. Living on the edge of urban and rural life gives me a unique perspective; one day I'm painting cityscapes, the next I'm capturing the gentle roll of farmland that stretches just beyond our neighborhood. These solo painting trips are my form of meditation. It's just me, my easel, and the landscape—no phone notifications, no deadlines, just the quiet conversation between artist and nature, while my cat casts judgmental glances at my canvases.
Capturing the Spirit of Agriculture in Paint
"Facing West" captures the essence of farmland life, honoring the connection between land and people with textured layers and bold colors that pulse with the same energy that drives the fields. More than a landscape, "Facing West" is a tribute to the farmers and the resilient relationship they hold with the land—every stroke is a thank-you to their labor and love. This painting is about more than what the fields look like; it’s about how they feel—alive, enduring, and tied to the heartbeat of the land, honoring both the beauty and hard work behind it.
Fight Against Propaganda: “Too Much Bullshit” in Art
Art should be real, but these days, it’s often dressed up to look like something it’s not, and in my painting "Too Much Bullshit," A person is holding up a sign as a stand against the nonsense we’re constantly fed online. I’m searching for real art beneath all the fluff, glitter, and gloss—an attempt to break through the surface and get to something honest. People think they’re seeing the truth on social media, but most of the time, it’s filtered, so with "Too Much Bullshit," I’m calling out these empty visuals to keep authenticity alive.
Artists Inspire Each Other in a Creative Loop
Gillian and I got to talking about how artists inspire each other. And that I had inspired some of her art students. It’s like this never-ending cycle of creativity. One artist creates something, and it sparks an idea in another artist, who then creates something new. It’s a beautiful, contagious process.
Painting Autumn: the Season’s Changing Beauty
Painting fall outdoors feels like capturing a fleeting moment in motion. Each brushstroke brings the unpredictability of the season to life, reflecting that hesitant quality—the unsure, unfolding beauty that makes autumn feel alive. With thick, impasto strokes, I let the deep, warm colors of fall spill across the canvas. It’s more than copying nature; it’s celebrating the bold arrival of amber and gold against the memory of summer’s green, each stroke a burst of change. Embracing fall’s tentative nature, my paintings capture its quiet start and the energy in every fading leaf. It’s raw, a bit messy, and all about bringing autumn’s hesitant hand to life.