Month: January 2020

The Story behind “Twin Warriors”

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By / January 31, 2020

The Story behind “Twin Warriors”

Twin Warriors

My painting of the “Twin Warriors” is based on the Mayan story of the creation or Popol Vuh.

The Hero Twins story, as told through hieroglyphics and translated after the discovery of the Dresden codex,

is considered by many academics as the most important piece of literature ever produced in the western hemisphere. It is a story of a warrior father who is killed by demons of the underworld, and who is subsequently brought back to life by his immaculately conceived twin sons. It is quite a story and very interesting.

Diego Rivera

The Maya wrote this story in about 250 AD, or roughly one hundred years after the Christian New Testament was written. References to the Hero Twins are also found in hieroglyphics dated to 1,000 BC. While the exact dates for the Popol Vuh are sketchy, the story is eerily familiar.
Remember the Maya were isolated from the rest of the world at that time and did not have contact with the Spanish until early 1500’s.

The great warrior, who is also a twin in some translations of the story, is lured to the underworld by the Death Lords. He is ultimately killed and his head is cut off and hung in tree. One of the underworld lord’s daughters comes by the tree and talks to the severed head. The warrior’s head spits in the hand of the girl and she becomes pregnant. She is banished from her home in the underworld and later gives birth to twins, the Hero Twins.

The Hero Twins are great ball players.

The ball games were great spectacles in Mayan culture and the winning players were heroes. (I know; it’s Super Bowl weekend.) The Hero Twins go back to the underworld to play ball against the demons, and through clever play and skill they win.

To reward the twins for the victory, their father rises from the dead to the heavens and becomes the maize god, or the planet Venus. The twins also rise from the underworld to become the sun and the moon.

The story represents the creation of food and light for the people of earth.

This story was translated in the 1950’s and 1960’s. The ability to translate the hieroglyphics has allowed historians the first self-written account of the Maya. If the Spanish conquistadors had not destroyed all the books, these historians could tell the true story of Mayan accomplishments and history. We don’t have the books, but we have the hieroglyphics. And that is why I reverently paint in their style.

Love, love,  

Winter in LA

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By / January 23, 2020

Winter in LA…..

It’s winter in LA. This is the time of year when the local news has “Storm Watch” at slightest hint of rain. Winter is our “rainy” season. And “rainy” is a stretch. When the storms do roll in from the Gulf of Alaska and we get a quarter of an inch (big storm) here in the basin, the local mountains get snow. The snow this year is spectacular.

Recently, my brother Temper and I went to Skidazzle at the convention center in downtown Los Angeles. It is a big trade show sort of thing. Lots of vendors with the latest equipment show up and sell their stuff right there at the show.

 

There are booths for the resorts, contest, and it’s the kick- off party for winter. We picked up some new gear and had a great time.

 

My crew and I took a little trip up to Mountain High near Wrightwood, CA. a few days after Skidazzle and we had a blast.

 

It was right after a storm and the powder was fresh and the sky was super blue.

 

We boarded all day and hung out a little at the lodge.

Mountain High Apres Ski

It was a beautiful way to spend a day here in Southern California, and it’s only 70 miles from LA.

 

Caspin full gear

We always have a million things to do here in LA, but the wintertime has special offerings for us. Take a little time and enjoy.

Love, love

 

Art in the Streets

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By / January 11, 2020

ART IN THE STREETS

I’m proud to announce today the beginning of my “Art in the Streets” project. We have been working on this idea for some time, and now it is here. I talked about my vision of accessible art in an interview I did last summer. You can check it out in the November 2019 Blog Archive.

I teamed up with my buddies at “StreaTea” to put some of my paintings on clothing so my art will be “in the streets”.

Azul God

The first t-shirts and sweatshirts hit Amazon yesterday. Lots more stuff to come soon.

I admit that seeing my art on t-shirts running around the hood will be dope, but I also want this to be part of a bigger idea. A lot of my inspiration comes from my ethnic heritage and my pride of being a descendant of the Maya.

Maya Blue Statue

As one of the six original “cradles of civilization”, the Mayan people created some incredible ideas and concepts like written language, astronomy, and the concept of zero.  

Although the Maya originated in 2600 BC, six million Maya still live in the area of the old empire which now consists of the countries of Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and five states in Mexico. No civilization is truly older than ours and our culture and history is uniquely original and continuous. Over four thousand years later that same blood flows through our brains and bodies creating new ideas and histories that are part of the great legacy.

Ancient Mayan Art

The “Art in the Streets” project was derived from a quote I gave for the interview I did last summer, “Art in a museum is great, but art in the streets is perfect”. We have expanded that quote to the concept of Perfect: Promoting Educational Rediscovery of Foundational Ethnic Cultural Traditions.  We believe that by increasing the visibility of my art the discussion and questions surrounding the art will lead to new appreciation of Mayan culture and history.

Check out the designs on Amazon in the “Caspin Coma” section.

Love, love,

Happy New Year

Leave a Comment / Uncategorized / By / January 1, 2020

 Happy New Year

This is one of my favorite times of the year. There is the party to ring in the New Year of course, but it is also a time of optimism. We make plans for the new year, and resolutions to improve ourselves. I think sometimes we fall in the trap of remembering too many things we didn’t get done or wishes that didn’t come true. There are plenty of things to bring us down:  gun violence, income inequality, impeached president, homelessness, equal rights, and a lot of other stuff. But my first resolution is to be more positive.

My family and friends are the most important part of my life. Tried and true; always there always will be. I want to appreciate that dynamic more this year.  

I am privileged and lucky that my work is one of the great joys of my life. My music and art give me a way to express myself that is positive and hopefully brings some joy to people. I want to focus more energy on my “art in the streets” project I started last year.

I have good physical health. That is a true blessing. I spend a of of time in the gym and running. The whole process makes me feel better. This year I want to develop habits that reinforce those efforts.

Whatever plans you make for 2020, I wish you the best. So here’s to a healthy, prosperous, and fun New Year.

Love, love,