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"...it's just so interesting to me that the same kind of trip can yield such different things—for example, i had to get knee surgery (twice now) as a result of one ski trip, while another ski trip was quite 'heavenly' (the resort in tahoe was aptly named) and i brought back photos of lush poppies (the state flower of california). the juxtaposition of the two souvenirs is supposed to be rather subtle in the painting—the disparity btwn. their natures is probably sufficient enough to get my message across. then again, what is my message? possibly i'm aiming at the commercialization of travel these days...souvenirs are such shit anyway now...everything is geared toward profiting off tourists now so it's funny that the souvenirs i present in this painting were not purchased or acquired through the usual means. they are...INTANGIBLE, you might say..."

the painting that resulted from this preliminary planning is blood is thicker than snow: souvenirs.