Panther Shakedown

"Panther Shakedown"  12"x16" oil on primed paper

When the profitable Charlotte Panthers football team wanted renovations to Panther Stadium in uptown Charlotte, they required the city to pay for it, even though they had made millions in profits last year. Unless the city wanted to loose an NFL team, they have to cough up the change, recently negotiated down to just over half the original amount only after NC state government in Raleigh refused to allow the city to raise the taxes, forcing the municipality to raid it's convention center funds to  renovate the stadium. Ultimately, it feels like a shake down of the residents of Charlotte as many professional teams demand more from their host cities.

School To Prison Pipeline

"School To Prison Pipeline" 12"x16" oil on primed paper

A recent expose on Mississippi revealed a very disturbing story that poor and minority public school students are facing more severe punishments at schools more regularly for even minor infractions, which lead them into the prison system earlier and more frequently than others. 

States' Rights To A Theocracy

"States' Rights To A Theocracy" 12"x16" oil on primed paper

Rowan County in NC was recently sued by the ACLU for having Christian prayers opening public government meetings, to which they responded by introducing a strange resolution to vote into law.  It states that the US Congress cannot pass any laws respecting or prohibiting the free exercise of religion because of the first amendment of the US Constitution; but that the individual state governments are not held by this prohibition and therefore can make laws promoting a specific religion; and any powers not delineated to the Federal government are reserved to the states, therefore the federal government has no authority to prohibit any laws promoting a religion which the states make! The county representatives attempted to make this lawsuit illegal, by arguing that when state law violates constitutional law, the federal government has no authority against it. This was an argument resulting in, and settled by, the Civil war and the resulting fourteenth amendment, making state constitutions subject to federal requirements.

After a firestorm of criticism, the sponsors backed down, apologized, said they do not favor a state religion, and the April 1st measure was not voted on. 

Duke Energy Tower

"Duke Energy Tower; Charlotte, NC" 11"x14" graphite, charcoal on paper 

Fayette and Salina

"Fayette And Salina; Syracuse, New York" oil on canvas 18"x24"

A beautiful summer morning downtown, as people go about their day. Communicating a bright, vibrant and inviting atmosphere was my goal in this piece to take the viewer there. 

Diversity Outreach: You're Doing It Wrong

"Diversity Outreach:You're Doing It Wrong" 12"x16" oil on primed paper  March 2012

Kind of a debacle at the diversity outreach presentation of the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference's "Trump The Race Card" seminar, as in the midst of minority outreach, two white supremacists showed up to defend slavery and segregation in front of the [historically inaccurate] conservative Republican Black speaker and were allowed to speak to a surprised but quiet audience; but a non-conservative Black woman in the audience was booed and shouted down when she raised objections. Another African American conservative was actually thrown out for raising uncomfortable questions. The members of the very groups the seminar was put on to reach were silenced and/or thrown out-on video. I'm assuming that didn't go well.

The Republican party is the ideological heir of much of the Confederacy, even in it's base constituency of the rural south. That tends to make diversity outreach difficult without some unpopular changes.

Winter In Charlotte, NC

"Winter Season Charlotte, NC" 12"x16" oil on paper  February 2012

A sample as a former north easterner's take on "winter" in the south; a few flakes and it's a big deal. Pretty snow, but even prettier that I don't have to shovel my way through it for months. Using the most recognizable skyscrapers as the hexagram shapes of the few snowflakes that ever fall in the area was just a way of tying the winter season to the Charlotte area.