Where are we? Where we are now. Here we are.

I promise you this is a positive message.

For as long as I can remember I have struggled with a duality of hope and hopelessness. My childhood was like this. Always looking to the bright side, dragged down a bit by the dark side. Glass half full half empty, half possibility. Nuclear war? Comic books. Cassettes. Records. Cartoons. WKRP. M*A*S*H. SCTV. Saturday Night Live. Looking back over the course of a short life (half passed) I’ve seen enough shit on tv. Enough news. Enough hope and hopelessness. The rise and the falls and the everything in between. The end of the second Bush years were like a hole was blown into the clouds. Sun shined in. And then it went terribly dark again, fast. And then everyone came to their senses. Realized the error of their ways. And more – the possibility of an even brighter, younger, brilliant future. But fuck that. Back to zero. In fact, back to zero minus 100. Where we are now? Here We Are. Gonzo Fucked.

‘Where we are now‘ is mantra. Ongoing adherence to hope. I am steadfast in the immediacy of understanding and reminding myself that ‘I am here’. This Recognition is vital in battling complete abandonment. Broken promises. A lifetime of possibilities shattered.

What does any of this have to do with oil paintings of billboards. Urban Landscape art. Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. Painting was once my quiet place. Over years it’s become increasingly enraged. I suppose I have always dared, rather than invited people to buy my art. The hope in this message, and a lot of my paintings really comes along with the ‘you are not alone’ sentiment that we all desperately need to hear. I’ve got your back.

Fuck the racists. Fuck the nazis. Gonzo Fuck. Here We Are.