Twin Pines Manor Gallery - Room 3

The Manor Gallery contains the bulk of the series and the many different stages over the last 4 years. Many things have happened to me over the course of the 4 years  that have affected the art. 

My health is a big part of that as some of the pieces were painted left handed and with a knife as opposed to the brush I use to rely on because of nerve issues in my hands which would affect my grip. Some of these pieces were painted while I was resting in bed because I could not stop creating but was advised to rest and try to relax. Some of these pieces have more love put into them because of the feelings I had while painting them. 

Nonetheless, my grand finale, my swan song, my offering, the last room. 

Entrance wall left “Electric FEel” was one of the first large paintings I did in the series. It features UV paint and a variety of hidden faces including my face as a silhouette.

“El Arrecife de Los Gigantes” or “Reef of the Giants” is a personal favorite of mine because it shows my love for the San Francisco Giants. The numbers found throughout the piece are those of the Hall of Fame players as well as my personal number 52. There is a tribute to Oracle Park in the Coke bottle and giant glove from the outfield and also a monkey head as a tribute to the “Rally Monkey” from the World Series in 2002. 

The next 3 paintings depict coral cities and layers of work that taught me to be patient and have more fun, not sweating the details. However, there’s a bunch of details lol. “Coralopolis”, “Mean Mug Rock” and “Dragonfly Reef” were pieces that flowed from the brush and took shape as intended. 

“Seal Rock” and “Burlap Rock” are next on the extended wall. “Seal Rock” is actually a Sea Lion basking in the sun as a tribute to the seals and sea lions found at Pier 39 in San Francisco, the obvious stars are the harbor seals swimming on the left side but the hidden gem is in the bottom left where you’ll find Grammy Award Winner Seal.

“Burlap Rock” is a stretched burlap/linen that was given to me to repurpose. The haunting image in the back belonged to the original artist and the dark rocks are a solemn show of gratitude to the artist. 

Next is the community reef that I hosted at the 2025 San Mateo County Fair as part of the Atelier for Healing Project, also a Wellness Fair workshop at Edgewood Drop In Center and finally at my weekly FREE workshop Wednesday at AZ Gallery. Artists were invited to add their own flair to the reefs and be part of the show as well!

The next 4 of 5 paintings titled “Knife Study” were done left handed and with a palette knife, bright and communicative pieces from a time where I was finding it difficult to function normally. “Trawled” beneath it depicts the horrible process of “fishing” by dragging a chain and net across the ocean floor destroying everything in its path for minimal return. 

The last 4 pieces were fun ones that I painted along the process. As usual look for my face, “SMURKS” and #52 in each one. 

THE BACK WALL

The back wall is a black light project showcasing 3 freshly painted pieces specifically for this event to highlight the UV paint used in several pieces throughout the gallery. 

The plywood pieces are a tribute to Ruth Waters, founder of  my studio and “mama” to lots of local artists and awesome people. I encourage you to ask around, someone will know her and have a great story to tell. 

Last wall, from corner “Coral 3eef” is a 3pc painting, fun to display in different ways, same hidden gems.

The “Frag” series are smaller versions of the reefs with the same energy. I have used them at popups to wow! folks and as a tool to introduce the much larger pieces but are often collected as conversation pieces.

“Switch” can be flip flopped/interchanged, fun feature to show folks!

The following 5 are sea critters that Maggie taught me about and were fun to put my spin on. The magic is in the size of the piece, viewers find they can lost in them in such a small package. “See Horse”, “Hammer time”, “Rock Formation”, “Crab n’ Go” and “Giant Bass”  are all part of the first phase of the series.

“Dead Sea” is a sort of morbid approach to communicating the current state of the ocean. Sad, lifeless, cold all intentional feelings to raise awareness and hopefully inspire change.

“The 7 Seas of SMURKS” is a large painting that pays homage to the graffiti roots of my name and my big personality, I feel this piece shows my drive to have my art seen across the globe, across the 7 seas. Ice, lava rock, sand, and lush green islands hold the keys to the artwork, my name. The first S is in ice, the M is in the lower portion of the second island, the U is the “mouth” of a volcano, the center is my head barely above water, the R is a cave forged above the water, the K is atop the island mountain much like Tefiti in “Moana” and the last S is carved in the last rock island.

THE SCULPTURES

Down the center you’ll find “Party Rockin”, a wheeled sculpture built out of recyclable material that I pulled from the trash at our studio a while back. In an effort to show the importance of proper waste disposal I built this reef to save it from being tossed into the ocean. It features a paper plate at the top with a little bit showing so you can see it’s a paper plate lol.

Next is the “L.E.fish” (Light Emitting) said like jellyfish, the L-E-fish is made out of a broken punch bowl and the straps from the face shields famously worn at the start of Covid. Before hitting the trash they were given to me to see what I could make. I hope I did you proud 😉.

Above, in the lights, you’ll find “Silverbag Tuna” cut out of reusable bags being discarded. I had the idea because of the swirl pattern in the reflective outer lining, looked similar to shining fish scales. 

And lastly, the “Big Head” sculpture is made of a particle blend of plastic and recycled cardboard, a last ditch effort to upcycle before becoming landfill. We added some lights and small features made out of repurposed material, now it holds the black lights and the original motivation behind the repurposing movement in my art.