My First Camera

My first camera was a Kodak Instamatic. As soon as I got it I rounded up a couple of friends and we rode our bikes out to the airport to take some pictures of airplanes taking off and landing. It was a small town airstrip. We sat in the grass beyond the runway outside the barbed wire and shot a roll of film. Most of the photos were blue, uniform blue-not a cloud in the sky. In some of the pictures you can see a tiny airplane in the sea of blue. I accidentally clicked the shutter of the camera and took a picture of my Hang Ten socks and Keds. It ended up being the most interesting picture on the whole roll as compared to the other slides of blue nothingness.

Mickey Mouse Mug

Coffee cup gift for Mom, 1968.
Age 8

Ashtray

Dad smoked Mark IV cigars, so when art class got into clay I made him an ashtray. Smoking was popular then (mid 1960's) so the teacher thought nothing of it.

Age ?

Pinecone X-mas Tree

Finally broke out of finger paints & crayons and into 3D. A pinecone spray painted gold then stuck in the bottom of a milk carton with some plaster. A little glue, glitter, tinsel and ornaments and you've got a holiday gift for the parents.

Age 6

Out & About

Age 6

"My Mother"

Brief impression of my Mom.

(click on image for enlargement)

Age 8

Birthday Card for Dad

It was 1969 and paisley patterns were on shirts, pants, dresses, wallpapers, it seemed like it was everywhere. That was the inspiration for the cover of this card.

Age 9

Card for Pop

Volcanoes still appear to be a dominating theme in my drawings.

See first post for explanation.

Age 8

Blue Handprints

My hands, some blue tempera paint & construction paper.

Age 4

Mother's Day Card

Potato block print with tempera paint

My brother wrote the text, & I "signed" it.

Age 4

My First & Only Book

When I was 4 I illustrated and wrote a book (a teacher's aide had to do the writing, but make no mistake, I was the brains behind it).

While on a family vacation in southern California my parents and siblings walked off and left me standing alone in front of the volcano at Knott's Berry Farm , hence the prevalent images of volcanoes. Whenever I brought it up Mom would cringe and insist "It was an accident".