childhood memories

I Remember When He Met The Crab

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Available for sale. Price: $800 18″x36″ acrylic on canvas

We would often ride our bikes to Lake Pontchartrain to go crabbing and fishing. There were a lot of swampy areas around the lake that made the crabbing part really easy. Just tie a chicken leg to the bottom of a crab basket, let it sit for a few minutes and before you knew it, crabs were flocking to get in on the feast.

So, I’ve been asked many times what the story is behind this painting. Is it about my dog’s love for crabs? or maybe it’s about the crab’s love for my dog? Well, this is how this encounter went down. The day started out like any other day at the lake. We set up shop, dropped the baskets, cast our fishing lines, and just waited. The dog came and sat in the shallow water and watched, then out of nowhere, he started crying, whimpering. and running in circles. We couldn’t figure out what was wrong, we checked his ears, his paws, his nose, his tail, until finally he dropped on his back and showed us his belly… then it all became clear. It seems a baby crab thought my dog would make a tasty treat and decided to pinch my dog’s “sensitive” area. It was not a pleasant experience for either the dog or the crab, but the situation was addressed, no permanent damage was noted, and the dog learned a very valuable lesson about sitting in shallow swamp water.

Contact me to inquire about purchasing this painting.

An Icee & a Slim Jim

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"An Icee & a Slim Jim" 12"x36" acrylic on canvas 2005

My dad wasn’t around much when I was growing up, but that didn’t stop him from being the best dad he knew how to be. He called often, sent greeting cards for every occasion, and later in his life, I found out he always carried pictures of me and my sister  wherever he went. Of course, these are all things that weren’t appreciated to the fullest extent until later in my life.

One of my most fondest memories was when he took us to a supermarket named Schwegmann’s. There he would take us to the cafe area where he would buy us an Icee and a Slim Jim, happiness was so simple and inexpensive back then. It’s those small thoughtful moments that made time with my dad so special.

Five years ago I made & brought this painting to him in Colombia as a Father’s Day gift. It’s been 3 years now since he passed away and I find myself often remembering those final moments we had together, especially around Father’s Day…

NOLA

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NOLA

So with Mardi Gras right around the corner and the Saints on the way to the Super Bowl for the first time in their history, memories of my hometown have been looming over my head.

As a child I remember celebrating Mardi Gras: the parades, decorative floats, festive dancers, and soulful marching bands. I remember the anticipation as we stood on the side of the road waiting for a parade to start. I can still hear the sound of the distant bass drum from one of the marching bands, it was one of the first signs that the parade was almost there. I remember the Clydesdales as they marched by looking so majestic & noble, the queens & kings on the floats,  and the crowd yelling “HEY MISTER, THROW ME SOMETHING!!!”

I watched the pretty Dance Connection dancers with their purple & white outfits as they danced by, their white boots with tassels would make a scratching noise on the pavement as they passed. I thought I was going to be one of them when I grew up, but little did I know I couldn’t dance.

I can still smell the exhaust from the tractors that would pull the floats, the sounds of the doubloons as they hit the cement, and the pain of getting my hand stepped on as I fearlessly lunged to get one.

Even outside of Mardi Gras season, the city of New Orleans is a world of rich culture filled with vibrant art, unique music, mouth watering food, and happy people. I was so blessed to of spent the first part of my childhood in such a great city. I still go back often to recapture some of my childhood and to get more imagery and memories for future paintings

Oh, and one more thing: WHO DAT?!?! 😀