Birds

Birds have been a recurring motif in my work over the years, as well as the influence of cave art. 

One interpretation of cave art is that it was a form of hunting magic, a magical connection to the depicted animals. 

I was especially inspired by the ancient petroglyphs in the Coso Range.

There are many beautiful birds in San Francisco, especially the Ravens who have so much character and intelligence.

I later reused the below Raven painting as the cover to my debut novel.

This was a lockdown painting in 2020, I wanted to capture the fleeting nature of the mourning doves visiting the bird bath on my balcony, they would appear and disappear, the sound of their wings making a whistling sound as they left.

The below pieces were inspired by the Coso Range Petroglyphs.

The next two paintings have a strained and dreamy feeling and were created during one of the covid lockdowns we had in SF, I remember at the time being focused on the feeling of the mystery of the interior of strangers homes, especially at night, and the boundaries of the street and the lives contained within.

The murals in the houses were inspired by a dolphin mural I remember seeing in the ruins of Knossos, and also the simple petroglyph forms that I had been experimenting with. 

The trees in the paintings are madrone trees.

These ink drawings are a tribute to the Ravens of the sunset district are were drawn when I first moved to the area.