Warm Stars

36 x 21"

Oil, Acrylic, House Paint, Pencil,
Extension Cords on Wood

Warm Stars is an oil painting on wood board. Aside from being a visual artist and musician I am a traveling beer salesman for Three Weavers Brewery - Los Angeles. I service thousands of accounts encompassing Santa Barbara to San Diego. While I am selling beer I look for found materials or anything I can make art out of...I work in every visual medium (video, sculpture, installation, painting, drawing, etc.) All of my materials are found and come from Southern California. After long days of selling beer (and being a father of two boys), I retreat to my studio to paint. The materials dictate the scale, palette, and story of each piece. Warm Stars is a portrait of a fictional (slightly self) cosmic time travelin' Western figure (or cowboy). I wanted to use colors that typically would not work together. However, the absurdity of the palette finishes in a complete composition. The painterly image lets the viewer follow the brushstrokes of the painter. I left parts of the painting "bare" or open so the viewer can see the disgarded wood board I painted on. Rather than frame the piece I used parts of a found extension cord to hang the painting. This gives the piece a more "folk" and contemporary vibe. The painting is coated in 3 coats of varnish and signed on the back of the wood panel.