california dreamin'

2007
korean egg tempera & permanent marker on bristol board
19" x 24"

"hot like wasabi when i'm next to your body" is a better than ezra lyric. i think better than ezra tapped out at "king of new orleans", really, but i still enjoy their 2001 album, closer.

this painting is based on that particular lyric and the stream of consciousness that led me to painting things i associate with california: sunshine, avocados, sushi, guitars, palm trees, etc. i actually started and finished it in two different (physical) places and in two very different places in life, as well. when i started it, i was living in mar vista (a small neighborhood of LA between venice and culver city) and i'd only lived in california a short time. when i finished it, i was living in silverlake adjacent/little armenia, i'd just quit my job and was preparing to leave LA for NY.