jacksonville art

Are You Ready for Some Kickball?!

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Are You Ready For Some Kickball?! 22″x28″ acrylic on canvas

It was roughly 1982, and I was attending Phoebe Hearst Elementary School in Metairie, LA. Our P.E. uniforms were all green, with our school logo in yellow, not the most fashionable attire, but I don’t think school uniforms ever really are.

So with my favorite pair of green tennis shoes , my sweatband in place & my jock socks pulled up all the way, I was ready for some kickball action. I was the tallest & lankiest kid in my class and I was never really good at any sports, but one sport I was pretty good at was kickball.

There were several perks about this particular sport that seemed to work in my favor such as but not limited to:

  1. The ball was big & red, which definitely was a bonus for my poor vision.
  2. Unlike other sports, it was customary for the person serving the ball to ask you “How do you want it?” My response was always the same: “Slow and Bouncy!”
  3. The 2 previous perks allowed me enough time to brace myself, prepare my ridiculously long leg to swing, and with the bounce element factored in, I was also able to time my large foot exactly where it needed to be: right under the ball as it was coming down from a bounce.

With all the above in place, I swung with all my might, sending the giant red ball farther than most anyone in my age group, but never far enough for a home run. Though I had pretty decent kicking skills, my awkward stature made me a super slow runner. Either way, at the very least, I was able to impress the masses with my kicking ability, even if it only was just for a moment 🙂

Would you like to own your very own piece of fine art that celebrates the innocence & joy of childhood? Check out my For Sale page for available works.

The Bus Stop Memory…

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So, tomorrow is my mom’s birthday and I can’t help but stop and be amazed at the incredible creation that she is. With so many odds stacked against her, she has persevered, conquered, & overcome so many things in her life in a way that many could never imagine. As a single immigrant woman, she saw many hardships & pain, but her strength and faith in God got her through some very dark chapters in her life.

Often, when I go by bus stops, I try to imagine what it must of felt like for my mom, being so vulnerable & exposed in a foreign land, with no one to turn to and 2 little girls completely dependent on her. Though most of my painting are usually focused on the happy-go-lucky simple times of my childhood, this one has a slightly darker side touching on what might of been my mom’s emotions during that period of her life, while still emphasizing the warmth & refuge she provided for us.

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…