Wonderment, Fullness, Majestuoso

Come to where the flavor is. Come to Marlboro country. Do you remember that Tv commercial? Had I looked a little more rugged and had that been a cigarette in my mouth and had the little Honda Rebel 250 been a sorrel horse than maybe the picture above would have inspired the pioneering of something great, or, the start of a bad addiction. That's me in the late 80's in Mexico going after Pancho Villa's descendants. Little did I know that the wild monsoon skies looming on my horizon would serve to inspire the paintings here pictured. Twenty two years ago I married a sweet little senorita in the small and dusty Sonoran town called Los Buidbores. We will be there precisely on our anniversary which is a first. July is not the best time of year to visit that part of the world. Can you say 130 degrees, salt in the air and malaria mosquitoes so thick you eat ten every time you breathe in? Ah, but the rainy season is upon us and the skies make it all worthwhile. Malaria is not fun, neither is dengue fever but get a taste of heaven's deluge pouring down on a dry desert land and you'll be back for more, plagues be danged. All three of these are available for sale. See link at the top right of this page.

A Marshwiggle Lives Here 24x30

Huh? Wake up? What's all the commotion? I guess the US soccer team scored a point, uh, correction, they won a game. And it was a high scoring game too. USA 1 Losers 0. The headline reads something like -"Fans Can't Contain Themselves After Historic Win". Ok, one question, where did they come up with "fans" of US soccer willing to fly half way around the globe to watch a bunch of guys grab their lower leg in feigned agony every time a playmate clips them a bit (in the shin guards) in the first place? And if there is anything "historic" related to US soccer, I think the world is in more trouble than we originally thought. For all you conspiracy nuts out there, I think we have a lead on something. I normally don't weigh in on things (publicly) I got strong opinions about but not a lot of investment in. However, I sat through a professional soccer match (awake) and watched the Minnesota Kicks win some sort of title game in 1981 to the roaring ovation of a dozen or so spectators at the sixty thousand seat Met Stadium- home to many standing-room-only crowds of below zero Vikings watching a real "football" team win NFC title games where the only shin that ever even caused a limp was a compound fracture and its subsequent loss of two pints of blood that quickly froze on the late December tundra. That's why I think I have the right to offer my two pence worth. Now, I can understand how the teams that other countries field generate the kind of money and support that real US professional sports do (who really watches hockey?) but there is no way this side of the Stanley Cup that American soccer even comes close to garnering the Krugerrands necessary to send a team to the world championships. Do you have any idea how many Euros it takes to bribe FIFA officials? We're talking serious Deutschmarks here. Like Greece's financial bailout serious. Here's where the conspiracy angle takes hold. My kids have never played soccer but we have lost a number of friends to the uber-secret conspiracy that is called futball.

Music Ether 30x24

I wanted to send a Fathers Day greeting to all the mothers that made it possible but the day was filled with such festive activities and fatherly duties that my goodly desire was precluded by constant distraction. Once again, a day late and a dollar short, the story of my life. This however is a nice cloud in anticipation of the upcoming monsoon season. And in honor of the season (and to show that the decision to not fill the pool this year to save money on water etc. was an exercise in futility) certain persons, (who will remain unnamed) have left the hose running all night long on two occasions generously flooding the yard and drive and basically doing their part to help replenish the southwest's dwindling aquifer. This can be purchased on-line at auction here.

Charlotte 40x30

If you've ever cooked food on an engine block while tooling down the road than you're someone I'd like to talk to. No, it's not because I think that it's cool or dangerous or exceptional in any way. It's just that I'd like to swap recipes and get some ideas - pick your brain a bit, as it were. I hope to travel across the country this summer and visit some of my childhood friends and haunts and I want to do it in style. The last time I drove across America we packed into a 1980 Mercury Zephyr wagon. It was a faded yellow four speed with two hundred and seventy-five thousand miles on it. The a/c worked intermittently (On downhill glides. Something that had to do with leaky vacuum lines), but it had a new headliner and a nice stereo and could go 0-60mph in about 120 seconds! Baked beans and Dinty Moore stew were strapped down tight on top of the manifold and took about an hour to heat up real nice. I debated within myself as to whether I should punch a hole in the cans to relieve the pressure or run the risk of the whole thing exploding under the hood and making a real mess. I vacillated between the two, both options having their inherent risks. Anyway, I can't remember which method I used but we had a few hot and hearty meals at rest stops somewhere in Nebraska and Iowa. I know people who have cooked whole roasts on their engine and figure I'm game to try something like that. If you have any expertise here, feel free to send it my way. Regardless, please don't confuse this with the unfortunate experience of the family cat who, looking for warmth, slept under the hood on a cold winter's eve. I think her name was Socks. About three blocks from home she jumped through the radiator fan... to keep from getting roasted.

Carlsbad Eve 30x40

Back from a week at our secret seaside getaway. I can't tell you how many times I said "Life's a beach" while overlooking the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. It wasn't even funny the first time I said it. (well, to me it was) But my family is used to my unoriginal and stunted sense of humor. Yeah, I'm the guy who quips "People are just dying to get in there" when we drive past the cemetery...every time we drive past it. So it was that our SoCal friends Rex & Monica blessed us with a nice little beach-side villa in the quaint and cheery town of Carlsbad. I got in some good reading (Tolstoy) a little fishing and we all got our fill of splashing and surfing and drinking salt water. Who ever said "...and not a drop of it to drink."? Of course you will die if you do but then again, isn't that where we're all headed anyway? Not if the painting above has anything to say about it. No, I think this imagery is all about just sailing into the sunset with nary a thought to cloud the horizon of your tomorrow. Or maybe those clouds are an ominous sign...

Sheep & Cows Dine Out

I'm not sure what qualified me for special consideration and inclusion into the elite list. I can understand the Dr. from Ethiopia and his pleas for help to free-up some millions of dollars. I can even see how the adds for Viagra shotgun-target people like me (and you). But, to be counted among the chosen few to receive notification of the latest sale prices on forklifts, well, let's just say that's an honor I'm not really comfortable with. I get spammed about three times a week by a forklift manufacturer. What is up with that? I tell you what. As soon as I'm out of the last gross of forklifts I purchased in May,(I run through them like crazy) I'll be sure to pick up the phone and order another pile of 'em. OK?