Sailing On Mars (1997)

Sailing on Mars

This is a large poster size airbrush I did back in 1997 with the intent of using it as a sample of similar work I could do for catamaran sailors who my wife, heavy into the sailing scene at the time, was steadily introducing me to.  She gave me the sage advice that I should take the time to really study the boats, and the rigging, and the whole freaking system, as it were.  I promptly chose to ignore that wisdom.  Looking back, I was a fool.  The picture was set up on an easel during an awards event.  The sailors all studied the composition intently, paying particularly close attention to the blatantly incorrect details.  No sales were made, valuable lessons were learned, and a good time was had by all.  (The colors, of course, were inverted to produce this other-worldly effect.  The original was done in all the natural hues one would encounter on any blissful day of sailing in the Gulf of Mexico).

Arctic Space (Late 1990s)

This was a mural I was working on as part of the spare bedroom's decor in a rental house my wife and I had lived in years ago.  Before we left, of course, I had to white wash over the whole thing.  Kind of tough, but I knew it was an inevitable event from the outset.  Fortunately, I snapped a photo or two before the big brush came in and wiped it all clean.  I also painted an African landscape, an underwater scene, and a big tiger in the same room.  Lots of fun! (although probably not the kind of artistic enthusiasm a landlord wants to encounter very often).  Think of your walls as great big canvases and you too can take part in this kind of frivolous frivolity (resale values notwithstanding).