2010
Strength in numbers
Acrylic, ink and pencil on shaped wood, 48x77", 2010-11
Animals of all kinds instinctively know when the weather is about to change. Seeing an approaching storm, an odd assortment of creatures -- all albinos -- gather together aboard a large pelican perched on a log. As humans continue to pollute the world with the byproducts of industrialization, genetic defects in the wild will only continue to increase, and animals will be forced to congregate to survive the tempest that is made from 7 billion people.
The bar code along the bottom is the genetic sequence for albinism, which can affect the entire animal kingdom, from snails to whales. Incidences of albinism have been steadily increasing the past few decades, the primary cause being embryonic exposure to heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, copper, mercury, selenium, zinc). The orange box and circles are taken from comic culture and are normally reserved for the text of a narrator, but here are left blank so that the viewer may create their own narrative.
A sloth ponders Drake's equation
Acrylic, ink and pencil on shaped wood, 48x65", 2010-11
While working as a radio astronomer at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in 1961 at Green Bank, West Virginia, Dr. Frank Drake (currently on the Board of the SETI Institute) conceived an approach to bound the terms involved in estimating the number of technological civilizations that may exist in our galaxy. The Drake Equation, as it has become known, identifies specific factors thought to play a role in the development of such civilizations. Although there is no unique solution to this equation, it is a generally accepted formula used by the scientific community to examine these factors. The Drake Equation was also used by the scientists who worked on NASA's Voyageur program in the 1970s. The Voyageur space probe, which is currently on route to exit our solar system within the next year, is shown on the upper right, with it's famous plaque on the left. A three-toed sloth, a blue heron, and a beaver were a few of the dozens of animals chosen to be included on the solid gold record of Earthly data that is onboard the probe.
The Drake Equation is written: N = R* • fp • ne • fl • fi • fc • L
Where,
N = The number of communicative civilizations
R* = The rate of formation of suitable stars (stars such as our Sun)
fp = The fraction of those stars with planets. (Current evidence indicates that planetary systems may be common for stars like the Sun.)
ne = The number of Earth-like worlds per planetary system
fl = The fraction of those Earth-like planets where life actually develops
fi = The fraction of life sites where intelligence develops
fc = The fraction of communicative planets (those on which electromagnetic communications technology develops)
L = The "lifetime" of communicating civilizations
More info here.
Stopped for a rest
Acrylic, ink and pencil on shaped wood, 41x47", 2011
Cryptozoology, the study and search for animals which are considered to be legendary, mythical or otherwise nonexistent, has been a fascination of mine since childhood. The notion that a giant ape-like mammal may exist with no living or fossil evidence is outrageous, yet continues to capture the imaginations of artists, writers and hunters. As a Sasquatch crouches in a grassy field, a monkey, a luna moth, and a female cardinal gather around the resting beast. Not sure what to make of the situation, an empty thought bubble emerges from the monster's head.
A cuttlefish on a monkey, riding a dodo
Acrylic, ink and pencil on shaped wood, 42x47", 2011
Private Collection
The Squid and the Platypus
Acrylic, ink and pencil on shaped wood, 46x47", 2011
The Disagreement
Acrylic, ink and pencil on shaped wood, 24x48", 2010
Saint Blue-footed Booby
mixed media on paper, 22x30", 2010
Private Collection
Fast Friends
mixed media on paper, 32x40", 2010
Vampire Squid and a Long-eared Jerboa
mixed media on paper, 26x40", 2010
Hairless & Featherless I and II
mixed media on paper, 26x40", 2010
Featherless with leeches
mixed media on paper, 26x40", 2010
The Puppet Master
mixed media on paper, 22x30", 2010
Private Collection
The Pope's New Gucci Shoes (with a cuttlefish)
mixed media on paper, 22x30", 2010
Pope Benedict walks off a plane, his shiny Gucci shoes peaking through the bottom of his robe, while a giant cuttlefish greets him on the velvet carpet. This drawing comments on the excessive opulence and secretive, slippery spending of the Catholic church.
The Pope's New Hat (with star-nosed mole)
mixed media on paper, 22x30", 2010
H.P. Lovecraft (after Bruegel)
mixed media on paper, 22x30", 2010
