Fresh Start

Venice Beach 2011 (Photo: CRF 29)

It’s been so long that I’ve almost forgotten how to write.

I spent a long time away from this blog to finish up grad school. It was in Creative Writing. And the most important lesson I took away was how much writing burns me out. I’m not a disciplined person, despite the years in Catholic school and the military.

So once I dragged myself across the academic finish line, I thought, F*** this. I turned back to my other passion: art.

At first, it was just slapping some paint around and getting my hands dirty again. Later, it turned into visiting museums and art shows during my travels. Then I went to Outside Lands Music Fest in San Francisco last summer. Juxtapoz Magazine curated the art murals (and live art sessions) at the Fest. Seeing Skinner, Sam Flores, and N8 Van Dyke in action and passing all the Chor Boogie pieces in SF activated some dormant launch sequence within me. I recognized something very important was going on.

Skinner @ Outside Lands (Photo: CRF 29)

Chor Boogie @ SF (Photo: Eduardo Solér)

Of course, I recognize this very later in life. I grew up in CT and NYC, where graffiti was as common as diners, traffic and smog. I was accustomed to the ubiquitous splashes of color and, yes, I took it all for granted. Now living in San Antonio, I doubted I would find many opportunities to photograph street art here. So I thought, Why not crawl the city to find out?

Roadrunner Gas Station @ Whitewood & Medina Base Rd (Photo: CRF 29)

Pepsi Wall @ San Pedro & I-35 (Photo: CRF 29)

Unknown alley @ Fredericksburg & Norris Place (Photo: CRF 29)

I travel a lot, and I used to take pictures of pretty sunsets and waterfalls. You may still find those pictures here. But in shooting street art, I see something equally, if not more, compelling. Something that is not meant to last and will unlikely be documented by the millions of visiting tourists. I see a flash of beauty in remote, forgotten parts of the city. It’s a momentary gratification, and I’m hooked.

A new year, a “new” love.