Ah, retrospect. This is how I kicked-off the year. On the precipice of 2021, we now know the answer is “less of 2020.”

Friend — destinations to digest the horrors of 2020 are legion… worry not! This is a happy place.

So grab a cocktail (you deserve it), kick back, and let’s have a look at some quarantine-driven creativity.

Down the final stretch of 2019, I had a 36″X48″ neon oh-so-close to completion. And so, making 2020 look like the prodigious son — I signed the Whitehorse Tavern two weeks in.

When friend and collector Greg Prugh inquired about an image of “The Virginian” to feature in Range Magazine — I was all-in; creating this 30″X30″ acrylic on linen painting.

As it happens, Mr. Prugh had the $60,000,000 listing for The Virginian. The result? He sold the property, and because of this ad, I sold the painting. All around winning (not the tiger blood style).

I’ve been involved with social media for three decades… yet, it took a global pandemic to really *use* it. When the world shut down, I began streaming almost daily from Facebook — so Teton Valley News wrote all about it.

Radio City was significant in many ways. First, at 60″X60″, it is my largest neon painting to-date (excluding that 264′ mural, of course). Second… as I added the first strokes, we were living in the world of 2019. By the time it was finished — we were locked-down amid a global pandemic. Mask you a question? Sorry for that one.

Amid the chaos, a wonderful feature was published in Teton Valley Magazine’s Summer issue. If you know me, you know I love my community — so this was a particularly special shout.

While 2019 was decidedly the year of the portrait… I did revisit the collage-painting style with this picture of my good friend Bene. It’s crazy to look back at how this process has evolved from its 2010 inception.

My lovely wife Erin joined the Teton Valley Foundation board this year. TVF operates the ice rink, and Music on Main — our summer concert series. As a result of COVID, both were shut down for a majority of 2020. So, when they had their big fundraiser this year,  I committed to creating this piece featuring our local drive-in — The Spud. It successfully auctioned for just shy of $9000, with 100% of the proceeds going to this incredible foundation.

Another year, another Guggenheim… only, this year’s installment of my 20-year-series was created in a single session, with my left hand. If 2020 was about anything, it was ceding control.

The Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce pulled-off a bit of magic, keeping QuickDraw on the menu at the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival. My 90-minute collage-painting of the Cowboy Bar’s vintage marque set the auction precedent as the fourth lot, going for a cool $6000. Thank you for the sweet shot Ryan Dorgan.

Further embracing the chaos of 2020, I decided to go HAM on this painting of Augusta National during the first ever Fall Masters Tournament. This baby found a new home mid-live-stream, which was fabulous. Is a new convergence of golf and art in the works? Wink, wink.

As it happens, I managed to overcome some wildly inconsistent golf to win our Club Championships (NET) this year… by one stroke. I’m every bit of my 18 handicap, but that 91 from the black tees will mark a round I will never forget.

While in-progress with some commissions, I took another ‘wild’ break to create this 20″X20″, acrylic and enamel on canvas rendition of the Chelsea Hotel.

Last year, I auctioneered the Education Foundation of Teton Valley’s Ride N’Dine fundraiser. There, I gaveled two painting experiences at Borbay studios… as with everything else, they were delayed. So, I was finally able to host one of the two winning groups, for a mask-wearing, socially-distanced fiesta. The good news? Another experience auctioned online this year for $3000.

Fittingly, the ‘Pandemic Guggenheim’ is currently on virtual display through The Long Island Museum’s “Transforming Crisis Into Art” exhibition.

Fellow artist and writer, Nick Thornburg, penned a book entitled, “Paradigm Shift” — I was honored to be interviewed as part of this tome.

Worry not, I have not completely abandoned my Virgo-Fueled style. This 48″X60″ painting of The Western Motel in Sayre, OK is back on the easel — and slated for completion in early January.

And so, dear friends, family, collectors, supporters, evangelists, well-wishers and anyone else who may have discovered this post — thank you. A year like this brings upon a great deal of introspection and reflection; I consider myself blessed to do what I love, and I couldn’t do it without you.

As we look forward to 2021, you can expect more art, more live-streaming and many, many more shanked golf balls.