Many of us in Los Angeles would like to press restart on 2025. It was only one week into this Gregorian calendar year that hurricane speed winds spread devastating fires throughout Los Angeles county, managing to destroy entire neighborhoods in a matter of hours.

Capturing a scene with acryla gouche that I came across while walking in my neighborhood the morning after the fires broke out.

Two of the largest fires remain active as I write this on January 27th even after a welcomed downpour of rain that fell over the city this past weekend. Given the bleak reality us Angelenos have had to contend with in these first few weeks of 2025, we'll take any opportunity we can get right about now to press restart on what has already felt like a harrowing year. Although we can't necessary turn back the clock, we can celebrate as if it is the new year all over again with the start of Lunar New Year this week.

I've decided to kick off the Year of the Snake with a new painting. Every year, Harman Projects--an art gallery in New York City--hosts their Annual Red Envelope Show. Although I haven't been able to visit one of these shows in person yet, I still managed to enjoy viewing paintings online that were created in 2024 for the Year of the Dragon. Upon viewing the work of some of my favorite artists who participated in that group show, I was immediately inspired to approach this same subject matter in my own style. Although last year during this time, I was fully focused on my solo show "Venus in the 12th," that opened at Gallery 839 on February 1, 2024. I curated, promoted, and hung that show myself, so taking the time to also paint a dragon in my style, was pretty low on my to-do list. I figured I would tackle it once the Lunar New Year rolled around again.

Although as I sat down to paint yesterday evening, I realized that it would no longer be the Year of the Dragon and if I wanted to paint a relevant subject, that I would need to pivot to painting a Snake instead. Luckily the idea I had in mind still worked perfectly with this animal. I'm actually pleasantly surprised by the outcome and am thinking I should try and make a series of colorfully painted animals. What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

"The Year of the Snake," acrylic on paper, 2025. 

 I'm helping fans of my work celebrate the Lunar New Year with a free phone wallpaper of this painting that will be sent exclusively to my newsletter subscribers this weekend. Want to get in on this offer and other future exclusives? Just sign up to my newsletter!