SERIES BACKYARD SERIES Oil paintings on canvas done in San Diego. For me, the amazing beauty of Southern California suburban scape is the odd, dynamic combination of organic and geometric shapes, of the extreme darks created by the extreme light. VANITAS Oil paintings inspired by the historic 17th century Vanitas motif: a still-life with flowers, bugs, a skull and an hourglass to imply life, death and the passing of time. In these contemporary Vanitas paintings, a digital clock and a cell phone replace the hourglass. TULIP MANIA II A further development of the Tulip Mania series, now more gestural and abstract, in order to convey the mingling of chaos, beauty and darkness. TULIP MANIA I Oil paintings inspired by 17th century Dutch flower paintings and the tulips and never-blooming roses sold in New York City delis.