Merry Christmas!

Dutton Brothers in S. Korea, circa 1984

RIP Piggy Iggy Oink Oink

My mom was in Korea not too long ago, where she picked up this squishy pig that flattens out pancake-style when you throw him against any surface. He'd regain his shape (for lack of a better word) in just seconds! She told me she bought him more out of pity than anything, and I displayed him on a cabinet in the living room for the same reason. He had a happy home here until I decided to toss the ol' pig skin around the kitchen table today and he sprung a leak.

Unfortunately there wasn't much we could do for him. You'll be missed Mr. Oink Oink.

Piggy Iggy Oink Oink in his final moments.

before going belly up.

More Winter

What can I say? Winter's grown on me a little bit. I think it's the puffy coats. So here's a couple new paintings. The first one is based on a childhood memory when my family lived in a small village in Korea. We spent a winter morning on the rooftop of our building, waging snowball wars and building snowmen.

"Tiny Companion" Gouache on Clayboard 6" x 6"

The second one is still drying, so here's a terrible photograph for now. Not based on anything in particular. (edit: replaced bad photos with color corrected scan. Wheee!)

The limbs of the manzanita trees are seemingly arched in a smile at him.... the colors he wears remind them of their green branches and flaky burnt orange bark in the summertime.

"Hope springs eternal beneath the boughs of her manzanita grin.
Look below and you'd never know where she ends and he begins."

"Beneath Her Manzanita Grin" Oil on Masonite 16" x 20"

Happy Winter

It's officially winter. Actually, I don't know what the official date for the start of winter is. Here in the Bay Area, it's been difficult to say. We're still getting patches of semi-warm weather, and the flowers in front of our house are still flourishing. I actually consider it official when I have to wear earmuffs in bed, and it's come pretty close to that the past couple nights, which is a clear enough indication to me. So the sketch above is a sort of welcome to the new season, even if I'm not its biggest fan.