Past Life

Recently I had to go through all of my past life to put together a professional resume. Funny, it has been so long since I have needed a resume. I mentioned that I lived with artist Michael Bedard in the 80's. We used to go out to the desert to a mineral hotsprings at a spa called Two Bunch Palms. They used this place in the movie "The Player". It was Al Capone's hideaway just outside of Palm Springs. When we would stay it was not super well known so it was a real nice 3 hour get away from LA. It was at this very place that Yote walked into my life. She looked an awful lot like a coyote when I first caught a glimpse of her and she was wild as can be. Michael's dog Hopi had recently died and it was extremely sad and lonely for us. A woman at the spa told me that she had been feeding Yote (This is the name I called her) but she had many dogs at home and could not take her, she was concerned for her welfare and wondered if we could help. We decided we would try to see if she would come with us and indeed she did. We brought her to our beautiful home, we lived on one of the premiere pieces of property in this town, very remote on a mountain way up high facing the ocean with no other houses in our view. Yote was the first dog that was really mine. She quickly became my best friend and she was a real beauty. I started including her in my paintings and the weirdest thing happened, people would always buy them. I would juxtapose this wild dog in a city scene and paint away. I made prints, they would sell. I did an enormous painting "After Midnite" not only did it sell right away but Yamakatsu published it as a puzzle and it sold out every run they made. I would always get excited and tell her we were going to eat well tonite! I was interviewed in the newspaper and my longtime photographer Dave Sessions came to take my picture and Yote somehow got in the shot. I rediscovered this photo the other day, it was not the one used in the newspaper but she looks like a ghost! When she died, I vowed I would never have another dog because it ripped my heart out but then I met Rat and I could not resist...

Once again please forgive the hair, big hair was in then. I should have mentioned this in" Five Strange Things" but my hair started turning white when I was 18 so of course I dyed it for years but in 96 I went au natural.

Top: "Moondoggie" Limited Edition Silkscreen Print by the artist 1991

Middle : "After Midnite" Puzzle / Painting 1987

Me & Yote 1990

Spot illo of Rat 2004