USCF; Crayola marker & graphite on paper, circa 1986 (moi, age 10)
Found this drawing I did in 5th grade while helping my mom sort through her house before she moves. All I remember was that Top Gun was the no. 1 movie that year and that the United States Cat Force was elite.
A quickish shout-out to my good friend and collaborator @killmek8 . He's moving to Pittsburgh this week, and I'm very sad for selfish reasons. I know we'll continue to work together in the future, but our planning sessions definitely won't be the same without our erractic ramblings over good coffee.
We were always in the same social orbit, but only met several years ago during a Halloween charity event at the Sand Dollar where we had both donated pieces for auction. He was dressed as Alice Cooper à la Alice in Wonderland. I was dressed as a gutterpunk Winnie the Pooh. We obviously had to work together.
Since then, we've done many great pieces, as well as a stellar motel series that I'm very proud of. Korey was the perfect partner. His insatiable work ethic and fantastic ideas always kept me motivated and challenged. I like to think that my pragmatic nature helped keep things in orbit. Anywho, I wish him and his beautiful family the best of luck on their next adventure. I'm really going to miss you, brother.
Bon Voyage, Mang!
Golden Hour Motel
Original Illustration by David Cooper
Bespoke Frame of Movingui, Chakte Viga, Padauk, & Purpleheart
From early on into the creation of VACANCY we knew we weren't going to be able to accomplish much without our secret third. Danielle and her company @goldenhourcodigital were more than just PR, she was so crucial in the success of VACANCY that without her, we may not have even finished, let alone, sold it out.
We knew we had to do something very special for her and what better fitting than her own custom VACANCY piece.
The problem I faced was I was gassed and stretched beyond my creative limit. If I'm being honest I have no idea how I created 14 pieces for VACANCY all of such different design and all at a level I was proud of and felt comfortable putting a wall of a gallery. I was out of ideas by piece 4, but somehow I did. There was no way I could hit it again...
That was until David delivered me the illustration of course. It came like a beam of sunlight. God damn that dude is good.
I wanted to create a four color hombre with soft edges like the glow of that special time; Golden Hour.
I used 4 types of wood with a double round over on the edges. Except the PH mat, that got a single since it was half as thick under the glass.
I wanted this piece to radiate off the wall like the numbers from 3-2-1 Contact. David's piece is so gorgeous and that pool alone just looks absolutely refreshing. We debated over whether the scene is a sunrise or sunset but I think that mystery is just part of the magic of golden hour.
Thank you Danielle, honestly, from bottoms of our hearts.
Valet Drop-Off: 20"×16" acrylic & ink on canvas 🛎🔥
Way more batshit crazy things have occurred since New Year's Day 2025 in Vegas, but that morning surely set the tempo for where we are right now.
