A quick synopsis of my paintings:

Food Series: Basically a statement regarding the abundance of “yummy” food in America. That abundance tastes sooo good, but it’s sooo bad. Why is 2/3 of the population in America obese? It is a personal struggle that I deal with on a daily basis. No more junk I tell myself, yet everyday I think I’m fat. It’s a painful battle, yet it looks and tastes so good.

Catalog Series: These paintings are direct images from a well-known catalog that gets delivered to every average Joe in America in their mailboxes year round. People are buying this stuff…somewhere. We worry about the nose hairs, the clever toilet bowl brush holder that we NEED, yet there are so many other issues in this world that we as Americans neglect. I wanted to paint these ridiculous items to make them “ART”, thereby creating importance in an unimportant life.

Last Supper: Again, using pop culture as my main influence, here sits the kings of pop culture – whether it be food, cleaning supplies, or fast food chains – it’s iconic imagery that recognizable to almost every American, yet can anyone actually recognize Doubting Thomas or Judas if seen in a photo? These are the real characters at sit at the table but no one has any clue. There is nothing wrong with it, it just seems funny to me. I sit in Judas’s spot at the table, another funny thing. I am fighting the influence, yet I am the biggest “victim” of pop culture.

Abstract: Taken from the Food Series, these are my 2 attempts at abstract art - - painting what I picture as the beginning of a heart attack….the pressure and build-up of Americana in an individual can be huge….visually expressed in these 2 paintings.

Family: Funny quirky paintings of my family, taken from actual photos that my parents took of me and my brother. I find it funny that my mom took a picture of me pulling my brother’s hair (ouch) and thinking it was cute….?!

Or my mom in front of a tractor, with a glass of champagne, celebrating the beginning of a house construction…kinda quirky.

Europe: These are simple 12” x 12” paintings of various toilet flushers that I saw on my trip to Europe. “Normal” people remember the food or architecture of a country – I remember trying to figure out how to flush the damn toilet in every country I visited…Backpacking for 5 weeks makes you appreciate the little things, and sometimes it seems that remembering the weird things of Europe, like the toilet flushing mechanisms, is more memorable than a castle or church.

Smurf Series: I love smurfs. I painted them as a joke for the masters program (which I later quit because I couldn’t stand the narrow minds of the facility). They loved it. I made up all kinds of BS why I painted the smurfs and they believed me. This was my last painting project ever, because I was at this time that I fully needed a break from all the mumbo-jumbo of ART. I still like smurfs and I like my paintings. That’s all there is to it.

Sculpture: Made some Simpson containers (part of an assignment). I liked how they turned out (for beginning ceramics) but I got a B! on the project, because as the teacher said “I was copying someone else’s art”. HELLO, that’s what pop artists do. DUH.

Diptyk: “Bob and Bill”. Supposed to be hinged together like a religious relic…never got around to buying the hinge. Basic humorous statement about the fact that Bob Barker gets standing ovations everyday of his career, sleeps with all kinds of beautiful women from the show, and makes millions of dollars. He’s a pop culture hero. Bill Clinton gets one B.J. and America is in the toilet. It’s not a political statement, it’s just me saying “how unfair that one guy gets a standing ovation for breaking the rules, and the other one gets reamed”. It’s a statement about the fact that LIFE ISN’T FAIR.

That’s it I guess….