Paintings

Before the writing…

I moved to San Francisco in 1991 with designs to be a rock-and-roll star. Within a year, I’d be severely addicted to meth, heroin, and cocaine. Two years after that, I’d pretty much be done with conventional society, a vagabond, a hobo, a Tom Waits pastiche.

Before the bottom fell out, I painted. Fervently. After being fired from my last job, I’d set up shop in various parks around San Francisco, painting all day, sun up to down, and then back to chainsmoke and sleep in my car. When that car eventually got towed, I surfed the few remaining couches, until, left with nothing, I was homeless. A bum under the bridge. I can’t say for sure when I stopped painting. Probably around ’94? ’95? (I’m assuming my supplies, easel, etc. were in the car when it was towed. That time is rather … blurry.)

Somehow I retained most of these paintings, squirreling them with friends and family. They meant something to me. They still do. In all, I say I painted between 15 – 18? After I cleaned up, I gifted a former professor one, sold a few in between. (While the majority of the work was completed in the drug-addled years, I did paint a bit after getting off the streets.)

These works showcase the slow descent into madness. Like The Wandering Jews’ (my band’s) 1996 record Clean Living, I am glad these … recordings … exist.

After posting a few on social (to overwhelming support), I’ve decided to paint again. And … to make these paintings you see here available for sale. Coming up with a price is always tough. How do you put a tag on work that consumed days and nights for months? Work that both fed and ate away at your soul? Well, you have to. I’ve settled on $500 (plus shipping). Art is meant to be shared, put out in the world, and with the (slight) impact I’ve made on the writing world, I’d like to believe these creations (along with the music I still make) add more to that story.

Anyone interested in a painting (or commission), like the Boss says, I’m easily found at joe@joeclifford.com.

**AVAILABLE FOR COMMISSIONS**

All sizes approximate.
ALL for sale: $500 (plus shipping)!

(photo credits: Drew Bird Photo)

**AVAILABLE FOR COMMISSIONS**

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