Murals painted on backdrops for booths at a charity gala, years before I dreamt of being a full-time muralist or of needing digital-quality photographs of my work to put on a website.

Each of a dozen clients paid me for an 8′ x 12′ mural of their choice. Sadly, not all of my photos survived, and those that did are less than perfect quality.

If you’re wondering why I painted a Thai temple with its eaves on fire (above, far right), I had glued pieces of gold foil to the mural along the temple’s eaves. The effect in person was impressive, as the gold reflected the light in the room, but when it came time to take a photo, the gold reflected the light of my flash so effectively that it created flares.