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Tania surprised me with a copy of one of my favori

Tania surprised me with a copy of one of my favorite childhood books - “Go, Dog. Go!” I used to stare at this page spread of the dog party for hours when I was young. Now I’m thinking about have this spread framed so I can stare at it for hours again.

#icanreaditallbymyself #childhood #godoggo

Here’s a little video we filmed on our Insta360 ca

Here’s a little video we filmed on our Insta360 camera of a tour (inside and out) of the groovy cabin we are staying at in Idyllwild! Such a cool perspective this camera gives… enjoy!

Hooray – we finally have a dispensary in the Moron

Hi Friends! I’ve got a audio treat for you… a bit

Hi Friends!

I’ve got a audio treat for you… a bit of ear candy. I just finished a pair of sound collages that are pretty entertaining for the mind – in my opinion… :)

Link: https://ufoverdriver.bandcamp.com/album/ive-just-come-back-from-los-angeles

The first is called “I’ve Just Come Back From Los Angeles” – a stream-of-conscious piece featuring Alan Watts, Bruce Lee and a throat singing group named Alash.

The second piece is called “The Story of Michael the Fly: A Field Recording” – a piece that uses a recording of me caught on a voice memo several months ago, telling the story of a fly that tried to become someone’s pet. Tania told me that it shifted her whole way of thinking about flies- and that she cannot even contemplate killing a fly after hearing the tale of Michael!

The music in the background are original compositions by yours truly. Listening time is less than 10 minutes… so check it out!

#sound collage #fly #losangeles #hidesert #experimentalmusic

In December of 2000 we went with our friend Tina t

In December of 2000 we went with our friend Tina to a tapas bar in downtown Long Beach that had flamenco dancers! It was my first time to a tapas bar and it made a big impression on me. I even included a scene with dancers in a tapas bar in my first novel. This piece is called “Lost in the music”.

#memories #tapas #flamencodancers #lb #filmphotography

Traveling Shoes Press has been designing and publi

Traveling Shoes Press has been designing and publishing books for over twenty years now and has a new website!!!

I invite everyone who loves books to visit our site and check out our catalog - from amazing authors like Dorothy Baker, Emma Bogaerts, Uli Boege, Jean-Paul L. Garnier, Wendy Gadzuk, Gabriel Hart, Mark Leysen, Nora Novak, Leslie Shaw – not to mention a selection of books by me, Jon Christopher!

Stop by and check out our complete selection…
Link: https://travelingshoespress.org

Note: Pictured are just some of the books we've published...

#indiepublisher #books #socalauthors #hidesert #smallpress #newrelease

Let me tell you about a book I recently designed (

Let me tell you about a book I recently designed (both cover and interior) for Traveling Shoes Press. It’s called “Free Ride” and is written by Mark Leysen. This one is a page turner…

It’s 1965, the Vietnam War is raging, and Southern California artist and surfer Garret Spencer has been drafted. Saved from the jungles of southeast Asia after basic training, Garret has been assigned as a driver at the Pentagon. Despite having to wear a uniform eight hours a day, Spencer is more interested in making love (and art) instead of war. Will Spencer find true love? Will he have a chance to show his art? Will he survive the army?

This fast-paced book with sparkling dialog is a perfect summer read! Never dripping in typical 60s nostalgia, this story puts you smack in the middle of the decade as it was really lived - based on Mark’s own experience at the Pentagon in the 60s.

This book is now available on Amazon.com!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4DNJKJQ

#novel #60s #pentagon #army #newportbeach #surfing #makelovenotwar

Today’s painting - “The Desert Wind”… This painti

Today’s painting - “The Desert Wind”…

This painting is inspired by a drawing I did about a month ago, and I painted it because I have a certain affinity with the wind, for several reasons.

Some years ago I learned that my Mayan day sign was, according to their calendar, The Wind. The Mayan name for this day sign is “Ik”. My particular incarnation of Ik is the 5th tone which is called “Ho”. My full day sign is Ho Ik - which translates as The Encouraging Wind. I liked that when I learned that…

And it surprised me some because years earlier I had written a poem called “I Am The Wind” - a poetic self-portrait. The poem was a statement of self-identity…

So, you see, I have a certain affinity for the wind.

“The Desert Wind”
50” x 36”
acrylic latex on sail cloth stretched over repurposed silkscreen frames

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - “Kangaroo” This exuberance mad

Today’s painting - “Kangaroo”

This exuberance made me think of several things, but mainly about kangaroos. I thought about the butterfly effect. I thought about something I call the Glass Onion Theory. But like I said, I mainly thought about kangaroos…

“Kangaroo”
22” x 24”
acrylic latex on sailcloth

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - “A Piece of Cake #1” Experimen

Today’s painting - “A Piece of Cake #1”

Experimenting is at the heart of the art experience for me. I’ve always been happy to try out new themes, directions, mediums, etc. in the process of creating… I never was one to find a style and stick with it. I’m too restless creatively… and consequently, today we have a piece of cake!

This piece was inspired by the drawing I did last month. That drawing is what prompted me to want to start painting again… and now here is the first, and not last, painting of cake. That brings it all full circle!

And finally, yes this piece was partially inspired by the artist Wayne Thiebaud and his cake paintings.

“A Piece of Cake #1”
24” x 32”
acrylic latex on sailcloth

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - “Even in the Rain”. You can’t

Today’s painting - “Even in the Rain”.

You can’t control everything that happens to you, like the weather - but you can control how you respond to the unexpected storms in life. That is the message built into this painting.

“Even in the Rain”
24” x 36”
acrylic latex on repurposed silkscreen

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Happy Earth Day!!! Today’s painting - “Midnight i

Happy Earth Day!!!

Today’s painting - “Midnight in the Garden”

You might remember a drawing I posted on March 30th as having the same name. I used that drawing as inspiration for this painting. Here we have a mystic in the gazebo of his garden of exuberances, tending to his special herbs and magic plants…

“Midnight in the Garden”
43” x 31”
acrylic latex on sailcloth

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today I’m sitting in my chair in my studio… Leonar

Today I’m sitting in my chair in my studio… Leonard Cohen songs are drifting through the air along with occasional hit of cannabis. The air in the studio is 84 degrees and a nice breeze keeps blowing through the open windows on this warm Sunday afternoon here in the hi-desert. I have a fresh canvas ready for the painting journey on the wall.

While I’m sitting here I’m thinking about that first line I’ll draw with a pencil… once I’ve got the first line in mind I can begin. A painting is the product of hundreds of individual decisions, but this first one sets the direction of the whole piece. I sit and ponder…

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - “Cotton Candy Exuberance” Whil

Today’s painting - “Cotton Candy Exuberance”

While all my pieces from this series have been very colorful so far, I took a different approach to this painting - keeping it raw. Something about the white and pink reminded us of cotton candy… it looks luscious on the wall!

“Cotton Candy Exuberance”
24” x 32”
acrylic latex on sailcloth

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - “Grace for the Great American N

Today’s painting - “Grace for the Great American Nude”

In 1997 I painted a series I called The Grace Series. I must of painted thirty or so paintings based on a sketch I drew one day at work. They were abstract works consisting of large swooping arcs of paint with big sections of color fields. Very fun to paint as I tried out many variations on the theme. This was one of the latter paintings in the series. The name references Tom Wesselmann’s Great American Nude series.

“Grace for the Great American Nude”
36” x 50”
acrylic latex on repurposed silkscreen frame
11.1997

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - “Daydreams of Your Own Private

Today’s painting - “Daydreams of Your Own Private Future”

This one hung on our walls in our apartment in Long Beach for a long while - so mesmerizing in person!

This painting shows an imaginary cityscape that was first drawn on the canvas with charcoal. Painting this piece happened very quickly after a long meditation on the charcoal drawing. I remember the creation of this painting was like doing a dance on canvas, in less than an hour it was done. I love when a painting flows out like that!

“Daydreams of Your Own Private Future”
32” x 47”
acrylic latex on sailcloth
August 19, 1993

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - “Mural in the Temple of Longing

Today’s painting - “Mural in the Temple of Longing (after Klee)”

I was quite taken with Paul Klee’s painting - his version is sublime with a great airiness. After staring at it for days in a book I decided to do a version… in my own style, of course.

I was experimenting with plaster at the time and I soaked sailcloth in plaster and laid it across the silkscreen frame to create a surface for the piece. It made a really interesting texture but was such a messy hassle I never repeated the process, making this a unique piece.

“Mural in the Temple of Longing (after Klee)”
24” x 32”
acrylic latex, plaster on sailcloth
October 1993

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - “This Ice Dancer” I painted th

Today’s painting - “This Ice Dancer”

I painted this while watching the 1994 Winter Olympics on TV. That was the year that skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked - whacked with a police baton on her knee - an attack plotted by her skating rival Tonya Harding’s husband. Crazy times! This painting was inspired by watching the figure skating competition and not about the unfortunate attack. Nancy got a silver medal in that Olympics and Tonya Harding was banned permanently from competitive skating.

I made sketches during the competition and painted this one from one of the sketches. I had been working on a new personal style based on looping, flowing lines - I was inspired by strings and threads I saw on the floor of the interior design warehouse we worked in at the time. I started sketching the random fallen pieces of string, finding the resulting lines both compelling and fascinating! I painted a good number of canvases based on this inspiration, drawn from my sketches. A few pieces from this series hang on our walls today - as fresh as they were 30 years ago!

“This Ice Dancer”
31” x 19”
acrylic latex on sailcloth
February 1994

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - “Crying Sunlight (after Picasso

Today’s painting - “Crying Sunlight (after Picasso)”

As a young artist in 1993 I was enamored with Picasso’s work. I picked up a postcard of his piece called “Portrait of a Woman with a Hat” at one museum visit and came home eager to copy the work in my own style. I ended up painting about a half dozen versions, but this was my favorite!

“Crying Sunlight (after Picasso)”
24” x 32”
acrylic latex on sailcloth
July 1993

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree #picasso

I started painting back in 1990. We’d moved to Lon

I started painting back in 1990. We’d moved to Long Beach and finally had enough space to have a studio. I was just 26.

Tania and I painted on repurposed silkscreen frames we got for free from a silkscreen company. They gave us hundreds of used screens over the next decade.

I’ve always used house paint because when we started creating we had a paint store just a block away. I’d buy mismatched paint for $1 a can. It was a premium situation for a beginning artist.

Between 1990 and 1998 I painted like a madman - sometimes completing up to 5 paintings in a weekend. I figured I painted over 300 - or more - paintings during that period.

I was in love with modern art and I drew heavily on the artists I admired - Picasso, Miro, Klee, Rauschenberg, and a host of others - while searching for my own style.

Not all of those paintings survived, but a good number have headed out into the world to brighten someone else’s home.

This week I’ll be posting some of the work I’ve done in the past.

Today’s painting - “Cheapa Bird”! This is a painting from 1993 of our parakeet named Cheapa. He had a cage but we left it open and he lived free in our apartment/studio for ten years and often hung out on the curtains. I was deep into cubism at the time…

“Cheapa Bird”
24” x 32”
acrylic latex on sailcloth
July 25, 1993

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree #longbeach

Today’s painting - “Clouds of Exuberance”! This on

Today’s painting - “Clouds of Exuberance”! This one is a pretty big canvas - it was gifted to me years ago, it’s just been waiting for the right painting…

“Clouds of Exuberance”
48” x 36”
acrylic latex on canvas

Coming up this next week - flashback paintings from over 34 years of work!

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - “Big Wheel Turning”! This is o

Today’s painting - “Big Wheel Turning”!

This is one of the pieces in tonight’s group show here in Joshua Tree. The show is at the Beatnik Lounge and starts at 5pm. See you there!

“Big Wheel Turning”
22” x 24”
acrylic latex on sail cloth

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - “Tears of Joy”! I spent all day

Today’s painting - “Tears of Joy”! I spent all day yesterday in the studio, listening to the Flaming Lips and peacefully painting this piece. Layer after layer of moving the paint around brings joy to my heart!

“Tears of Joy”
24” x 36”
acrylic latex on canvas

Today we hang the art for the show tomorrow. I have 8 pieces in this big group show. So excited to see them hanging and being enjoyed by others. :)

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting is titled “In the Morning of the

Today’s painting is titled “In the Morning of the Magicians” - this one is named after a Flaming Lips song that I love, and it seemed to resonate with this painting…

“In the Morning of the Magicians”
24” x 36”
acrylic latex on canvas

Back in 1990 I first learned the pleasure of moving paint around on a canvas. Since then I’ve painted hundreds of paintings - many that went out into the world to fill the walls of family, friends and other art lovers.

With this current series I’ve rekindled my love of moving the paint around (it’s been several years since I last made paintings) and I’m having a wonderful time creating these exuberant pieces. This is turning into a great season of art… thanks for joining me on this journey!

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today’s painting - The Jam Session! This is anoth

Today’s painting - The Jam Session!

This is another painting that will be in the show at the Beatnik this weekend…

“The Jam Session”
24” x 36”
acrylic latex on canvas

You might be wondering what influenced this new series called “The Exuberances”… and it’s mainly the work of both Morris Louis and the graphic designer Milton Glaser. There is also a little Peter Max in the mix too - along with the Yellow Submarine. I also keep remembering a painting an old friend Jeff Morris did 30 some years ago - it had a very flat quality that I loved. All these influences fuel this latest series - mixed of course with my desire to imbue every paint stroke with joy and happiness and most importantly - exuberance!!!

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Today you get a pair of paintings! These are each

Today you get a pair of paintings! These are each on 12” x 12” canvases. These will be in the show this weekend…

“A Little Exuberance #1”
12” x 12”
acrylic latex on canvas

“A Little Exuberance #2”
12” x 12”
acrylic latex on canvas

BTW - those swirls I’ve been painting, I call them exuberances - expressions of happiness and joy!

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Touch-ups… #art #painting #joshuatree #gettingread

Touch-ups… #art #painting #joshuatree #gettingreadyfortheshow

What am I doing today? Getting lost in deep contem

What am I doing today? Getting lost in deep contemplations in the studio, painting little exuberances :)

#painting #art #creating #hidesert #joshuatree

Happy Eclipse Day! Today’s painting is a little bo

Happy Eclipse Day! Today’s painting is a little bouquet of joy!

Some of these paintings I’ve been posting will be in a group show this Saturday at the Beatnik Gallery in Joshua Tree, along with a few selected tarot paintings from 2015! More info on this as the week moves along…

“The Little Bouquet”
19” x 26”
acrylic latex on repurposed silk screen frame

#painting #art #newwork #creating #hidesert

Happy Sunday! Here’s a new fresh painting from the

Happy Sunday! Here’s a new fresh painting from the studio - a joyous greeting to the rising sun!

“Hi-Desert Sunrise”
24” x 32”
acrylic latex on sailcloth

#painting #art #newwork #creating #hidesert

Here is a painting from last night in the new stud

Here is a painting from last night in the new studio… I love the vibe of this one. It’s already hanging on the wall, bringing joy to the room!

“The Dance”
32” x 37”
acrylic latex on sailcloth

#art #painting #hidesert #dance

Today you get another painting! This is the second

Today you get another painting! This is the second one from the new studio… I’m on a roll!

“April Showers”
37”x 34”
acrylic latex on repurposed silk screen frame

Enjoy!

Today you get a painting instead of a drawing… thi

Today you get a painting instead of a drawing… this is the first canvas from the new studio!

“Lifted”
30” x 40”
acrylic latex on canvas

I’m aiming to create paintings with unbridaled joy and exuberance this painting season, because sometimes it feels like the world doesn’t have enough joy and happiness in it these days.

#lifted #painting #art

Today’s drawing - a Spring downpour… #rain #handd

Today’s drawing - a Spring downpour…

#rain #handdrawn #hidesert

Todays drawing - A cloudburst with a flash flood o

Todays drawing - A cloudburst with a flash flood of creativity…

#cloudburst #handdrawn #creativity

Today’s drawing – The Desert Wind... #wind #handd

Today’s drawing – The Desert Wind...

#wind #handdrawn #modernart

Happy Easter – life springs eternal! Have a great

Happy Easter – life springs eternal!

Have a great day!

#easter #handdrawn #modernart #joy #celebration

Today’s drawing - Midnight in the Garden. I drew

Today’s drawing - Midnight in the Garden.

I drew this last night at midnight… I’ve been feverishly working on a book cover design project for the last couple of days - drawing like crazy. It’s added new elements to my drawing repertoire as you’ll see moving forward. I love growth and change!

#handdrawn #modernart #spring #growth #change

Today’s drawing - the rocking chair in our yard…

Today’s drawing - the rocking chair in our yard…

This chair was gifted to us years ago by Rae Packard when we first moved to the hi-desert and now it’s a beloved part of our desert landscape!

#desertlife #handdrawn #chair

Today’s drawing - one of the many Mojave Yuccas in

Today’s drawing - one of the many Mojave Yuccas in our yard…

#mojaveyucca #handdrawn #desertlife

Today’s drawing - a House Finch! This cute guy ha

Today’s drawing - a House Finch!

This cute guy has been hanging out in our yard lately - at the water bowl/bird bath and on our large tree…

#housefinch #handdrawn #desertlife

Today’s drawing - hedgehog cactus… Enjoy! #hedge

Today’s drawing - hedgehog cactus…

Enjoy!

#hedgehogcactus #desertlife #handdrawn

Drawing is a form of magic! I draw with light thes

Drawing is a form of magic! I draw with light these days using a drawing tablet attached to my computer. It’s a large tablet that really allows for me to draw naturally.

Magic happens when the pen meets the paper, or the stylus meets the tablet… my creativity engages and soon something from my mind exists in the real world.

I tend to draw from my imagination, just like I did as a child. Of course, on the cosmic scale I am a child.

#drawing #magic #huion

Today’s drawing is of two freshly cut flowers… En

Today’s drawing is of two freshly cut flowers…

Enjoy, and have a great Sunday!!!
#handdrawn #imagination #flowers

Today’s drawing – hook, line and sinker... Be car

Today’s drawing – hook, line and sinker...

Be careful red fishes!

#handdrawn #redfish

Here’s a drawing of a twig. I put a bird on it… th

Here’s a drawing of a twig. I put a bird on it… the bird is a verdin.

#handdrawn #verdin #putabirdonit

Today's drawing - cherry blossoms on a beautiful S

Today's drawing - cherry blossoms on a beautiful Spring day!

#cherryblossom #spring #handdrawn

Today’s drawing… London Rocket a.k.a. Desert Musta

Today’s drawing… London Rocket a.k.a. Desert Mustard

Our yard is covered with London Rocket… most parts are edible/medicinal, I understand. The bees sure love it!

#handdrawn #mustard #londonrocket

Today’s drawing… is a piece of cake! #handdrawn #

Today’s drawing… is a piece of cake!

#handdrawn #cake

Happy Magic Monday and last day of Winter... #mus

Happy Magic Monday and last day of Winter...

#mushrooms #magicmushrooms #winter #spring

The Season of the Ravens One season a few years b

The Season of the Ravens

One season a few years back the grove of Joshua trees below us became the night time roost for all the ravens in the area. Every evening at dusk they would fly in groups of about twenty and cover the Joshua trees. By nightfall hundreds of ravens had gathered. It was quite eerie. They did this for months and then one day they left and never came back. 🐦‍⬛

#ravens #handdrawn #hidesertlife #hidesert

Happy Friday! While I’ve been thinking about flow

Happy Friday!

While I’ve been thinking about flowers, I decided to draw my favorite flora, the amazing cannabis plant. I’ve had a positive relationship with this plant for over forty years, both medicinally and for fun. While I know it’s not for everyone, I personally have never had a bad experience caused by this plant.

Originally this drawing was going to be called “Veneration of the Cannabis Plant” but I removed the Halo or Glory I had drawn around it and made it more secular... now it’s more of a celebration of cannabis!

#cannabis #handdrawn #hidesertlife

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