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Current Paintings: 2022 -- 2023
SEEKING QUESTIONS TO LIFE'S BIG ANSWERS
When I painted landscape
imagery and the constructed environment years ago, I liked to
talk about formal concerns: painting as map or diary or arena
linking visual and verbal, conceptual and material, fact and
fiction, abstraction and representation; not to mention a blend
of styles and a viewer building bridges between disparate ideas.
While all this remains true, with the paintings today I would
say that, given how many images we are all bombarded with every
day via the media, I am simply interested in making memorable
ones.
The figure has taken center stage
since the early 2000's, and there are perhaps four different
levels on which one can consider the work: 1) on the beauty level,
by which I mean the combination of painting media (watercolor,
oil, ink) and styles (abstraction, representation) in a complementary
tension that augments the imagery involved; 2) on a political
level, in that my goal with the guys who dominate the images
and constitute my muse is to populate an art world with them--
an art world where the female image, nude or otherwise, is about
as normal as a burger and fries, while the male image continues
to be considered, by some, suspect, and is thus in short supply;
3) on the textual level, presenting titles that can be read in
varying ways and short stories that are written before or after
the images come along, but in any case are springboards for the
reader's imagination; and 4) on the transcendent level, an attempt
to depict a thoughtful, if not vulnerable, Everyman, reaching
beyond the fleeting surface idealization associated with youth
and hopefully going far in terms of metaphor, poking around such
timeless ideas as: truth, beauty, faith, time, the infinite,
what we learn and what we know.
It may seem questionable indeed
these days to even concern myself with such unanswerables, but
in an era when political and spiritual leaders assert that they
in fact have the answers for us all, I think that art has the
capacity to imagine otherwise, to offer some transcendent spark
to bridge the gap between intent and form, between idea and the
evidence of our lives. Muse indeed.
Note: At times
my focus is on paper works in series, for instance the MUSE/MUSEUM
watercolors and TATTOO DETOUR drawings from Honolulu. Therefore,
select images from these series have been incorporated onto this
page along with the "usual" canvases. More images from
these series can be found on their dedicated pages.
Note 2: As of
December, 2022, I am including a few PHOTOGRAPHS in the mix,
to contextualize the paintings within my "usual" realm
of visual interests.
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(Not Yet Titled) (Cue) (#2415)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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(Not Yet Titled) (Loft) (#2413)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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THIS WAY (#2407)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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(Not Yet Titled) (Tiger) (#2406)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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IN TODAY'S NEWS (#2410)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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REGINALD MARSH IS DRAWING ME
(#2412) (MUSE/ MUSEUM SERIES)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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KUHIO (#2398)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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THIS IS NOT MY DOG (#2399)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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THE GULF STREAM (#2404)
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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GANG SHOWERS (#2391)
India ink on paper, 30x22 inches
Click on image for text
Text:
Died and gone to heaven is how
my cowboy buddy Curt described the gang showers at 5:30, days
when the wrestlers came into the lockers or the hockey team or
a visiting football team. A squeeze of jocks under every nozzle,
perfect muscle, laughing, shouting, throwing those little bars
of soap, peeing on each other, even a chub here or there. Curt
and me, we made sure to always be finishing our workout by then,
and one day
OK YOUR TURN
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PROLOGUE (#2393)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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THE NEW WORLD (#2401)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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UNTITLED (#2404)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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WE DO NOT GIVE UP (#2397)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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POSTER BOY (#2394)
India ink on paper, 30x22 inches
Click on image for text
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LOOK OUT (#2400)
India ink on paper, 30x22 inches
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SIX PACK, MIAMI (#2396)
India ink on paper, 30x22 inches
Click on image for text
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PROLOGUE (#2393)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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NO COMMENT (#2405)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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Colorado
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LEGION (#2387)
India ink on paper, 30x22 inches
Click on image for text
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SAYING YES (#2392)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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Fountain, Colorado
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EMPIRE OF COURSE (#2387)
India ink on paper, 30x22 inches
Click on image for text
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CHOIR (CHAIR) (#2382)
India ink on paper, 20x15 inches
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Colorado
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JB @ Paris Photo
Magazine intervention 2023 -- ArtForum 2012
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Tucson
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Tucson, AZ
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THE BRONZE ELK (#2388)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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Tucson, AZ
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Tucson, AZ
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OFFSTAGE THE NARRATOR'S VOICE
RISES:
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH (#2385)
India ink, acrylic & gouache on paper, 22x30 inches
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JB @ Petzel (#2383)
Magazine drawing -- ArtForum November 2022
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A SUDDEN GUST OF SNOW AT WAIKIKI
(FOR HOKUSAI) (#2369);
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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Waikiki
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SOME GUY'S DECALS (#2367);
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on
image for text
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text on left:
Some guy down the street has covered his car windows with decals--
for cities, countries, national parks, ski areas, brewpubs, whatever.
I had a suitcase just like it growing up-- states I'd been to,
or wanted to see, places, a real steamer trunk like from the
movies. My reflection in the glass today made me think of it
differently, though. I haven't see it in years. (Sat. Nov. 12,
2022) |
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HONEY (TRUCK) (#2378)
India ink & acrylic on paper, 15x20 inches
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MOBY DICK 2 (#2376)
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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PERPETUAL PIE (#2380)
India ink on paper, 15x20 inches
Click on image for text
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THIS CLOUD (#2381)
India ink and acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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Colorado
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MY CROSSING GUARD (#2368);
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on
image for text
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TEAM PHOTO 1 (#2375);
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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Hawaii State Art Museum,
Honolulu
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ACE WAS JOGGING (#2373);
India ink on paper, 30x22 inches
Click on image for text
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OUT OF HAND (#2366);
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image
for text |
Ventura, CA |
FIRST DAY BACK (#2357);
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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CENOTAPH (UNTIL THE NEXT
GODDAMN TIME) (#2370);
India ink on paper, 30x22 inches
CLICK ON IMAGE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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IT WORKS BOTH WAYS (#2359);
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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Tucson, AZ
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CALL FOR ENTRIES (#2362)
Ink, oil & enamel on canvas, 32x48 inches
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Farnsworth Museum
Rockland, Maine |
YOU WERE MY FIRST (#2379)
India ink on paper, 15x20 inches
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TODAY'S CHOICE: RED STRIPES
OR U.S. MARINE AT WAIKIKI (#2299) India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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SO HONORED (#2300)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches |
MUSEUM PIECE (#2276)
India ink on paper, 30x22 inches
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Text
on right:
I am headed to Maine
day after tomorrow at the height of autumn, to be in a show.
Bates College is flying me out and putting me up and it's not
the first time either- in Maine, Iowa, Texas, more. The first
time I was on my own, sleeping in my car, climbing Katahdin,
even met Andrew Wyeth.
If you told me way back then I'd be doing this all today I'da
said Huh? You nuts? Where do I sign up? Some people say you need
a roadmap, but Joseph Campbell said it best: Follow your bliss.
This dog followed me into this painting and at first I thought
of a title "A Dog's Life," until I looked up the meaning.
No Way. So much better is the Marine I met on the beach in Honolulu.
He'd just spent four months at sea and now was on shore leave.
He kept looking around and shaking his head, smiling and saying
to himself "Livin' the life. Livin' the life." If he
ever needs a dog I've got one in mind.
Today is (was) October
25 & 26, 2022.
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HEADED TO MAINE (#2365)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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NAVIGATION (#2360)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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Tennis Court
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ON APPROACH (#2361)
Oil, enamel & ink on canvas, 44x60 inches
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THIS IS MY DAY JOB? (#2296)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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BIRTHDAY BOY (#2289)
India ink and oil on paper, 22x30 inches
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THE JUMPING CASTLE (#2295)
India ink and oil on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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Berthoud, Colorado
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ONE WAY OR ANOTHER (#2290)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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Colorado
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THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT
STORIES (#2297)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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Text on right:
Monday was laundry day next
door to where I lived in college: sheets and towels and whatnot
put out like clockwork, flapping in the breeze from an Andrew
Wyeth painting in the side yard of an Edward Hopper house. That
view from my window was the best watercolor I ever did in those
days. On the other side was a bunch of college kids like me,
and I could look down into their yard too. They liked to sit
out, but they didn't seem to do much laundry ever.
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LAUNDRY DAY (#2287)
India ink and oil on paper, 22x30 inches.
Click on image for text
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CENOTAPH (UNTIL THE NEXT
GODDAMN TIME)
(#2370); India ink on paper, 30x22 inches
CLICK ON IMAGE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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THESE ARE THE DAYS (#2279)
India ink and oil on paper, 30x22 inches
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CHRIS BURDEN: WHAT MY
DAD GAVE ME (#2298)
India ink and oil on paper, 30x22 inches
FROM
THE MUSE / MUSEUM SERIES (click here for page)
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START (#2285)
India ink and oil on paper, 30x22 inches
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SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
(#2284)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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ON NO DAY DOES THE PIER DISAPPOINT
(#2358);
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches |
Tucson, AZ
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OUR VISIT TO TOLEDO (i.e.
FRANCISCO) (#2261)
India ink, gouache & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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TALISMAN (TELL THE WORLD) (#2275)
India ink, gouache & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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Untitled (Pie) (#2264)
India ink & gouache on paper, 10x12 inches
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AMAZING (#2260)
India ink, gouache & watercolor on paper, 19x15 inches
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WE HOLD THE RIVER (#2258)
India ink, gouache & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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Tucson, AZ
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HUCK AND JIM SEZ: WE READ ABOUT
A RIVER,
AND WE HEARD ABOUT A RAFT; (#2257)
India ink, gouache & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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WE BUILD THIS (#2249)
India ink, watercolor & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN
SEE (#2256)
India ink, watercolor, gouache & acrylic on paper, 22x30
inches
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America
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POETS WILL BE NAMED (#2270)
oil and enamel on canvas,
46x42 inches |
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NOW IN PAPERBACK
(#2273--464)
oil and enamel on canvas,
40x48 inches |
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Untitled (MAST) (#2263)
India ink on paper, 10x12 inches
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Washington D.C.
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PINK AND BROWN (#2242)
India ink, watercolor & gouache on paper, 30x22 inches
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Untitled (#2266)
India ink on paper, 12x9 inches
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EDWARD HOPPER: HOUSE
BY THE RAILROAD (#2271)
India ink & gouache on paper, 30x23 inches
from the series MUSE/ MUSEUM
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IN THE SISTINE... (#2253)
India ink, watercolor, gouache & acrylic on paper, 22x30
inches
Click on image for text
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Tucson, AZ
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BEYOND THE PAIL (#2238)
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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STRINGER (#2259)
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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Farnsworth Art Museum,
Rockland, Maine
Self-portrait with Andrew Wyeth's
"Portrait of Young Swede"
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THE NEW COLOSSUS, STILL (#2248)
India ink, watercolor & gouache on paper, 30x22 inches
Click on image for text
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AMAZING (#2260)
India ink, gouache & watercolor on paper, 19x15 inches
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MORNING SURF (#2244)
India ink, watercolor & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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WRITE OF SPRING (#2240)
India ink & gouache on paper, 22x30 inches
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DUST (#2227)
India ink, watercolor & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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Berthoud, Colorado
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GUSHER (#2236)
India ink, watercolor & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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SEND FOR NO INFORMATION
(#2231)
India ink, watercolor & acrylic on paper, 30x22 inches
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IT'S ALL CONNECTED (#2232)
India ink, watercolor & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
Click
on image for text
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SOME DAYS (#2269);
oil and enamel on canvas, 46x42 inches
Text:
Some days I just want to paint but I don't know what. So I just
start. Somedays it can be a sky. Today it's the ocean. Some days
I add something, then I can figure it out. I'm glad there's a
lot of some days. |
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HOT HOUSE (#2221)
India ink, watercolor & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
Click on image for text
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Tucson, AZ
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WHEN SO LATE BECOMES
SO EARLY (#2241)
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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Untitled (#2267)
India ink on paper, 11.5 x 9 inches
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HORSE POWER (A Better Metaphor
Could Not Be Had) (#2251)
India ink, watercolor, gouache & acrylic on paper, 22x30
inches
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ALPHA (#2252)
India ink & acrylic on paper, 30x22 inches
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MOON SHOT (#2228)
India ink, watercolor & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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America
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AND WITH AN ESSAY BY SOMEBODY
ON SOMETHING (#2219); India ink & acrylic on paper, 30x22
inches
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WALLPAPER FOR BOYS (#2234)
India ink & acrylic on paper, 22X30 inches
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MOUNTAIN TIME (#2239)
India ink, watercolor & gouache on paper, 30x22 inches
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MORNING SURF (#2244)
India ink, watercolor & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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FRIDAY, 10 P.M. (#2224)
India ink, & acrylic on paper, 30x22 inches
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b
WAIT ROOM (#2215)
India ink on paper, 22x30 inches
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Weightroom
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THE PRAYER (#2230)
India ink & watercolor on paper, 30x22 inches
Click on image
for text
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OUR NEW FISHING BUDDY (#2229)
India ink, gouache & acrylic on paper, 30x22 inches
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ON THE ROAD (#2218)
India ink, gouache & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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STILL LIFE WITH APPLES AND MEXICAN
TIN
CHICKEN (#2214)
India inK on paper, 19x15 inches
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HOOK (#2247)
India ink, gouache & acrylic on paper, 22x30 inches
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NIGHT GAME (#2220)
India ink, gouache & acrylic on paper, 30x22 inches
Click on image
for text
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ArtForum
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zzz
AND WITH AN
ESSAY BY SOMEBODY ON SOMETHING (#2219); India ink & acrylic
on paper, 30x22 inches
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BLUE AND YELLOW (For Ukraine)
(#2254)
India ink & acrylic on paper, 30x22 inches
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FLAG (#2216)
India ink, gouache & acrylic on paper, 22X30 inches
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AND TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT IT
(A TRUE STORY) (#2235)
India ink & acrylic on paper, 30x22 inches
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I WANT TO TELL YOU A STORY (#2226)
India ink on paper, 30x22 inches
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zzz
BETA (#2255)
India ink & acrylic on paper, 30x22 inches
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LANDSCAPE WITH TREE AND BASKETBALLS
(#2222)
India ink, gouache & acrylic on paper, 22X30 inches
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