12-31-13. Crutches in a 1937 painting by Salvador Dalí.

12-30-13. Organ.

12-29-13. "Drum Kit", a 2013 sculpture by Mark Shetabi.

12-28-13. Plate 6 from Louise Bourgeois' 2005 book, He Disappeared into Complete Silence.

12-27-13. An 1899 lithograph of Queen Victoria by William Nicholson.

12-26-13. "Echo", a 1989 screenprint by Susan Crile.

12-25-13. A mourning doves' nest in our front yard in September 2013.

12-24-13. A "silkhenge", a tiny Stonehenge-like structure built by a spider in the Amazon.

12-23-13. Maxwell right after his haircut on Saturday.

12-22-13. Reindeer footie pajamas that Harold saw yesterday.

12-21-13. A corn dog with mustard at the State Fair of Texas.

12-20-13. A monster truck.

12-19-13. A box of fried chicken.

12-18-13. Goat with a saddle.

12-17-13. A Cinta Larga Indian man shooting a bow and arrow at the 2013 Amazon Olympics.

Volcan (481)

"Volcan (481)", oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in. For sale on Etsy.

Steam and ash are erupting from the vent of a volcano. The rocky summit of the cone glows red hot in the darkness. This painting represents Volcan, color #481 in Naomi Cuno's Colorscape book. "Volcan" is French for volcano.

The painting is based roughly on a photo of a recent volcanic eruption that I found through Twitter. An undersea volcano formed a small new island inside Japan's territory.

For sale on Etsy, $200. 

12-16-13. Upon the Iron Throne.

12-15-13. Sami people on a ski slope in Finland in a 1767 illustration by Knud Leem.

12-14-13. Macarons that we ate in Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati on Feb. 22, 2012.

12-13-13. Pugs in a 1985 photo by Andy Warhol.

12-12-13. Hedgehog in the Fog.

12-11-13. "Celia in the Director's Chair (Tokyo 244)", a 1980 lithograph by David Hockney.

12-10-13. Parasol.

12-09-13. "Leaning Tower, Pisa", a 1937 woodcut by M. C. Escher.

12-08-13. Witch flag by Nayland Blake.

12-07-13. Maxwell and his Dada in Vigo Co., Indiana.

12-06-13. Maxwell riding the elevator with me at the library.

12-05-13. The Anthora Greek paper coffee cup, popular in NYC.

12-04-13. An oral syringe for Maxwell's pain medicine.

12-03-13. Maxwell spilled some milk a couple of days ago.

12-02-13. Briefcase.

12-01-13. "Oblique Light Stoplight", a 1973 painting by Yvonne Jacquette.

11-29-13. Christiaan Nagel mushrooms on a rooftop in London.

11-30-13. A telegram in 1972 conceptual art by Rob Wynne.

11-28-13. "Beach Ball Collision Test", performance art by Tobias Fike & Matthew Harris.

11-27-13. Sunglasses.

11-26-13. Legwarmers in a 1951 photo by Ed van der Elsken.

11-25-13. "Fire at Full Moon", a 1933 painting by Paul Klee.

11-24-13. Our blender.

11-23-13. Loading crane with waterbags.

11-22-13. Scrooge McDuck's money bin full of gold coins at iam8bit in LA.

11-21-13. G.H. Cretors Chicago Mix popcorn that I had for a snack today.

11-20-13. Medicine from a drawer in our kitchen island.

11-19-13. Real dried starfish on a 2009 painting by Mary Weatherford.

11-18-13. My toothbrush, which I replaced today.

11-17-13. A 2013 tractor sculpture by James Angus.

11-16-13. "Egg Roll Hut", a watercolor by Dallas artist Peter Ligon.

11-15-13. Confetti.

11-14-13. Maxwell's otter bath toy.

Van Allen (408)

"Van Allen (408)", oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in. For sale on Etsy.

The Van Allen radiation belts are composed of charged particles held in place around the Earth by its magnetic field. These radiation zones can endanger satellites. In this painting, three satellites have been damaged by the Van Allen belts and are falling out of orbit. They are small and spherical and drifting down like balloons running out of helium. The three satellites are based on three online photos of Greg Allen's 2013 sculpture "Beacon Inflatable Satellite". Each photo has different reflections of people viewing the artwork. The sculpture is based on a 1958 model satellite which was never actually launched into space. 

Behind the satellites is an abstracted image based on a still from my Vine video of a Vimeo video of the aurora borealis over Norway. The Van Allen belts might influence the auroras, according to some sources, but I'm not sure what the latest scientific opinion is about this. 

In the foreground is a stylized rendering of my son's Global Glowball globe toy, which I had sitting in front of me while I painted. Like most of my oil paintings, this is part of a series meant to portray all of the colors in Naomi Kuno's Colorscape book. This one is Aurora Pink, color #408.

The soundtrack for this painting is two different Pandora stations, played on alternate days. One is based on the song "Satellite" by the Dave Matthews Band. The other is based on the 1962 instrumental track "Telstar" by the Tornadoes. It's named for the Telstar communications satellite launched in the same year.