I was excited about the double-painting aspect of the new Ice Box Series. I was excited to introduce the novel concept of paintings with doors and beautiful antique brass hinges and latches. There was one glitch to this novel idea: how to stabilize these paintings so when they're in use they don't move out of balance on the wall. I found some special hardware that allowed me to both hang and lock the relatively heavy wooden structures on the wall. The hardware fit on the rear of the Ice Box paintings so it seemed a perfect solution that did indeed work. However the hardware was quite difficult to install and even harder to explain to a potential gallery owner who wanted to show one of these paintings. Due to these challenging logistics I chose not to paint any more Ice Box paintings as I was already stressed out enough just trying to show and sell my work. The thought of any number of random viewers potentially damaging the paintings because the painting wasn't fastened to the wall properly made my head spin.

25 years after making these three Ice Box paintings I saw where someone had fashioned two simple L-shaped wooden strips that could overlap the top and bottom edges of the painting and be fastened to the wall to hold the painting in place. Of course it wasn't as elegant a solution as my hidden hardware, but certainly a much simpler one that could have made my Ice Box hanging woes less worrisome. Ahh yes, gotta love it.

On a brighter note both of these paintings were the first to incorporate the Club and Spade suits randomly into the otherwise non-Club and Spade compositions. The suits were now just popping up as flavorful bits to enhance the work, like tasty spices in a soup.

Larry (RIP) was a close friend and the only other artist I ever worked creatively with side by side. Larry was a budding musician who loved playing his keyboards yet struggled to incorporate his computer and other digital instruments like drums and bass into his songwriting. Being a digital one-man band in 1992 was far more challenging than it is today, 2024, and much more expensive. I realized while spending a few years working alongside Larry that not everyone has the same level of ability when navigating their creative paths. Music is a time-based invisible event, is generally hard to pin down, and even harder to write, organize, produce and record effectively. Music requires a certain kind of brain that can successfully juggle the multiple aspects of creating it. Some people get it and can do it and some just struggle.

I also learned that my good friend suffered from paralyzing bouts of depression that on occasion would take him completely out of communication with me, often for weeks at a time. He never spoke to me about his depression, but I eventually figured it out before his untimely death.

This painting shows Larry in his music studio environment he lovingly referred to as The Aural Chamber. It also shows a sinking ship which at the time of painting this I didn't consciously know why I had included it. After his death I hung the painting in my studio and immediately realized precisely why I included it. I love this painting as it is both a celebration of who he was as well as a reminder of how important it is to be kind to all people as you don't ever really know what someone is struggling with inside.

While I worked on the six Woven Suits Paintings 128 - 133, I also used the poured paint on some other new paintings on wood. I loved how the initial randomly poured paint could help define these new compositions as well as be a textural component underneath the finished painting.

Painting 146 saw the return of my Jester Spirit Guide who initially showed up in Painting 026 Time Means Nothing Here. This time he evolved abstractly out of the random application of poured paint, completely different from how I previously painted him. He also became French in nature as indicated in the title. This is a nighttime painting, one of several paintings I had recently made using a darker palette. I was glad to see my Spirit Guide again after three years, and knew his presence was a sign of good things to come.

I collected a lot of stuff that I thought could be fashioned into paintings or art. I had a bunch of found items that I had every intention of using for future artworks, but a lot of these items eventually got recycled once Olga and I decided to move from San Francisco to Sebastopol to help my mother out when her cancer re-appeared. I just couldn't justify moving it all one more time. But before we moved I was able to utlize two metal refrigerator shelves by weaving strips of canvas through the grating of each shelf. I knew by the design of the canvas weaving that it made perfect sense to paint on both sides of each shelf, and of course that it was yet another novel idea to pursue.

Stories in books are often broken into chapters, to help contain and add order to the story. Paintings usually are displayed on one surface of canvas, wood, or other base material. A painting usually doesn't continue onto its back side, nor does it continue onto another separate painting. So creating a two-sided painting is for me like writing two chapters of a given painting or story. Olga's dream continues on the reverse side of this painting and while doing so makes the front side temporarily disappear. So I decided it would be best to hang this painting (along with the second refrigerator shelf painting) from the ceiling so it could spin freely and display both sides of the story effortlessly.

Side One of this painting (at top) includes the Spade and Club suits (at right) joined at their bases, which together wonderfully creates a Diamond shape. When the main body of the Spade is viewed upside down it becomes a Heart, so now we have all four suits present within the two. The Club and Spade aren't intentionally bragging about these facts, but do show some pride in their ability to make these facts known.

This refrigerator shelf weave painting along with it's cousin Painting 151 were completed during the transistional time of Olga and I moving from San Francisco to Sebastopol and so never appeared in any of my public shows. One day...