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SEA LEVELS 415

 

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This painting was inspired by my 2 youngest kids, Marcus and Maggie. We went on what they affectionately refer to as a "DADventure" (usually a hike or beach day), this time we went to the Golden Gate Bridge overlook at Vista Point and they asked me seriously if I thought the melting polar ice caps and global warming would ever cause the sea level to rise above to peaks of the Golden Gate Bridge, I thought, let's paint it...?

I spent HOURS studying diver footage of the San Francisco Bay and learning about the mystique around the shifting currents and ice cold waters and watched a NatGeo special where they "DRAINED: ALCATRAZ",  I was intrigued and wanted to explore the topography around the entrance of the GGB (Bridge) so with the help of old videos and LYDAR scans of the Bay, I was able to get this PRETTY-ACCURATE depiction of the bridge with the sea level at near peak. 


This painting was the most frustrating and emotionally draining piece I have ever painted. I spent over 60 hours painting the layer beneath with bold and bright colors, only to flood the painting with murky mud water from the bottom of my paint water cup and it devastated me. All I have are photos and videos of those layers before ruining them, there's no turning back..... and much like the rising sea levels, there's no turning back.

Under the bridge you will find a stone in the shape of a middle finger, just beneath it you will see a play on the Los Angeles Dodgers logo (LA), my love for my SF Giants took over my emotions and I had to document it after they defeated the Giants in the playoffs despite the Giants having their winningest single season in team history with 108 wins. Still kind of bitter.

Another reason for the need to flood the painting was that I forgot the 4th beam on both of the towers of the bridge, they are pictured here with only 3 despite the fact that the original drawing and sketch on the canvas had the 4th beam always included, somehow I ixnayed it from the first round of paint.

In the wreckage of cars you will notice that there are 4 cars and a MUNI bus. The cars depicted in the painting are of 3 of my coworkers and close friends Rob (Black Dodge Ram), Sebastian (Grey Lexus) and Dillin (White Toyota Tacoma) and my own (Silver Scion Xb) and the SF MUNI, a bus I frequented in my teens.

Vista Point side or GG Bridge overlook is made up of faces with my self-portrait at the mouth of the Bay eroded down and not as defined as other selfies of me you'll find in the series.


The skeleton of a Great White Shark can be found on the floor of the Bay, despite opinions that the Great White won't enter the Bay Area waters because it is brackish water, which can cause health complications, however in recent years, footage and tracking has shown that Great Whites will travel into the Bay in search of Seals when water conditions are optimum, risking death for a meal.

You will also find a few isolated skulls at the base of the bridge, those are based off of theories I have about escapees from Alcatraz, prisoners who swam for freedom and met their icy demise.

At the very bottom left corner, you will find "SMURKS" in the mossy green algae covered rocks.


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