Blue Puma

Quote attributed to Ken Kesey (One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest, Sometimes a Great Notion)
(Design for T-shirt/poster)

Hey, where the hell is Parker?

During the performance John Parker, the policeman assigned to Lincoln,
left his post outside the presidential box either to have a drink
 in the Star Saloon next door or to find a better seat to watch
 the play -- something the president had encouraged him to do.

Frank Hebblethwaite, Lincoln Historian
”(8" by 10" scratch board)

Blast from the Past

In the Eighties, when I was a smart ass teen, my Mom told me
 that at her age (40's), you just don't have a blast anymore.
"Oh, you can have a good time, but you just don't have a blast."

I totally dismissed her, saying
that if that were true it was her own damn fault.
This upset her, but I wouldn't take it back.

That argument has always bothered me, so last week I finally called to apologize.
 I said I got it now, and although I still have plenty of good times, "blasts",
in the strictest teenage sense, might be over.

My Mom graciously accepted my apology and we chuckled about the incident.
Then, just before she hung up, she added that at 60
 I could forget about even the good times.

(Acrylic, oil, crayon on 22" x 24" board)

Bomba Pop

 Near Beverly and Virgil (in an industrial area of midtown L.A.),
an old man used to push his ice cream cart past my art studio.
The tinkle of the bell fastened to his cart always signaling
his unhurried arrival.

 One day as he approached three shots were fired
 on the street -- BAP, BAP, BAP!
 And his bell went suddenly silent.

I froze, thinking the worst.  But a second later
 the old man whipped past my window at a full sprint,
 completely abandoning his cart.

Later, as I finished my second ice cream sandwich,
I pondered these two somehow inextricably linked truths:
1.   The frailty of our existence.
   2.   The tastiness of free ice cream.

(18" x 24" Acrylic, oil stick on wood)