First off, I have to thank my Mother and Father. They've been lovingly supportive of my interests in art and were incredibly tolerant of that noise that came from the basement.

Also my friend, colleague and brother Greg Morlan (1957-2013). He was an amazing guitar player. This clip from the late 80s is a good example of his guitar work - “Insomnia Squad”.

Music has always been a part of my life, from my father listening to Gene Krupa - (YouTube) and Chet Atkins - (YouTube) on his early 1950s blond-maple Philco Hi-Fi; to tuning in Gabber - (YouTube) and Glitch on Radio Centraal in Antwerp; to thousands of MP3s playing randomly in my studio.

Music has always been an integral part of my studio environment.

Since the late ’70s I’ve loved ambient music: Brian Eno, Jon Hassell and Harold Budd are some of my favourites.

Lately, I've been playing Loscil and various mixes my daughter sends from London, longside Erik Satie, Claude Debussy and Mozart.

1957 - fascinated by the full moon shining through the window at the foot of my crib. This was my first experience of *wonder*.

My brother is born; the second time I experienced *wonder*.

1959 - in my aunt and uncle's kitchen, I watched my teenage cousins practise the latest dance craze, using the refrigerator handle as their dance partner. This was when I realised that music has the power to move people.

Loved tuning my grandfather’s 1930s Philco short-wave radio. The sounds that came from the speaker while turning the dial fascinated me. Once in a while, I'd hear a voice speaking another language.

While coloring in a coloring-book with my mother, I admired her coloring technique: easily staying within the lines, delicately layering colours.

1961 - very much wanted guitar lessons; a guitar teacher told my mother that my hands were too small.

1963 - because of my birthdate, I was held back and repeated second grade.

1964 - won an award for a self-portrait and it toured various libraries. My third-grade teacher told me that I’d be an *artist* someday. During class I'd carve Easter Island Heads from blackboard chalk with a straight-pin.

Started to realize that all I had to do was listen in a class and I'd get a B.

My father showed me how to paint model cars. I really enjoyed sitting at the kitchen table with him, watching him paint the minute details on a model.

I brought the first model car my father and I had built to my third-grade classroom for show-and-tell.

It was wrapped in a brown paper bag so no one could see it, and I was excited to share it.

But the show-and-tell period ended before I got the chance, so I raised my hand. When the teacher saw me, she said, "Yes, Jeff, what do you want?" I told her I had brought something for show-and-tell. She said, "Show-and-tell is over." I replied, "I know, but I really want to show this." She walked over to my desk with a yardstick and said, "I don't care what you have! Show-and-tell is OVER!" Then, holding the yardstick firmly, she slammed it down on the paper bag, breaking the car inside.

It was the only time I cried in school.

Because of the Vietnam War, my brother and I played "Army". Essentially it was hide-and-seek with wooden guns. We thought this skill would be useful someday. Of course, as young boys, we had no idea what that really meant.

Our parents got my brother and I out of bed to see The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show. There was something intoxicating about all the excitement that surrounded The Beatles. However, I have to admit, I didn't really care for the music.

1965 - “Rubber Soul” began my love of The Beatles and my enjoyment of music.

Started to notice that I had trouble reading. I could rarely get through a chapter without getting a headache and my mind would drift to other things. My brother and I had started reading "The Hobbit" and he quickly got way ahead of me.

1966 – won an award for a Halloween window-painting contest at a local mall.

Saw a TV science show on synthesizers and thought, “I want one of those!”

My parents couldn’t afford the Hot Lunch program at school, so I brought a paper bag with my lunch in it. Those of us with bagged lunches stayed in the classroom while the others went to the cafeteria. I liked this, I’d usually spend the time drawing or making something.

One day, I was sitting on the front edge of a desk, talking to a girl who was sitting at it. I remember wanting to impress her. Suddenly, a hand grabbed the collar of my shirt and yanked me over a couple of desks and out into the hallway.

There, I was reprimanded for what I’d done and was told to stand in the hallway, next to the door, until I was allowed back into the classroom. It was humiliating standing there while the others returned to the classroom. The teacher who did this was Mr. Thomas, a sixth-grade teacher.

1967 – started guitar lessons.

Now, in sixth grade, my teacher was Mr. Thomas. I’ve always referred to him as my favorite teacher. He played guitar and sang, and we all sang along with him. He brought bagpipes to class and played for us. I really enjoyed the live music.

But for some reason, he didn’t like me. At the very back of the classroom was a group of nine chairs arranged in a circle with nine boys sitting in them. Mr. Thomas called it the Pentagon and I was one of the boys in the Pentagon.

One day, while standing at the front of the class, he pointed to the Pentagon and said, “Those sitting back there will never amount to anything.”

It broke my heart when he said that.

My parents bought me a 1959 Gretsch 6124 Anniversary Model and a 1963 Fender Princeton amplifier.

I still have the Gretsch; the Princeton was stolen in 1976.

Started teaching my brother everything I was learning from my guitar lessons.

Mom saw The Moody Blues on the Mike Douglas Show and really liked them so she went out and bought me the “Days of Future Passed” album.

Heard “Are You Experienced” by Jimi Hendrix.

My brother and I started producing feedback with my guitar and amp in the basement.

Very rapidly Greg became a much better guitar player than I was and could now play a riff on first listen. I was amazed.

At dinner-time the evening news showed Vietnam casualties after the weather. Often we would see “4 Americans - 2,301 Viet Cong died today.”

A friend’s brother was blown out the front of a helicopter in Vietnam; he survived minus legs and an arm, scalp scarred by a molten helmet.

Another friend’s brother, a forward observer, stuffed his severed forearm into his shirt while fleeing; both he and his radio-man survived despite horrific injuries.

At 12 years old, I had become terrified of the Vietnam War.

I identified with Mr. Spock from Star Trek. I wanted to be Mr. Spock.

1968 – Ken Scrivner and I wore out the groves of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and later Uriah Heep LPs.

My 7th-grade teacher played “Switched-On Bach”. This was the first time I heard synths doing more than creating interesting noise.

While sitting on an American flag being used as a bedspread, my cousin played to my brother and I, The Beatles “White Album”. "Dear Prudence" became an all-time favorite. We were both fascinated and terrified by “Revolution 9”.

Fell in love with John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

1969 – played bass in a band called Stone Ash.

We had a summer family trip to the San Juan Islands.

While there we saw the first man walk on the moon on a tiny black and white TV with roughly 30 other people.

Decided that one day I was going to live in the islands.

Listened to the “2001: A Space Odyssey” soundtrack over and over.

Took summer photography and film classes. We were given a Super 8 film camera with film to do whatever we wanted with it. I filmed our summer on my dad's sailboat and created a stop-motion animation.

Drew caricatures of my science teacher on the desktop for students in the next class to see.

Got a 10-speed bike; spent summers at the Little Spokane River. I loved being on my own in nature, watching the river.

1970 - took Commercial Arts.

Read “Siddhartha”. It had a profound impact on me.

Identified with the anti-war movement.

My brother joined The Beatles Fan Club and received “Electronic Sound” by George Harrison and “The Beatles' Christmas Album”.

We loved the Christmas album; “Electronic Sound” was my first real taste of synthesizer possibilities, I played it repeatedly.

Right around this time Greg was listening to Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, The Rolling Stones, etc. I was listening to Pink Floyd, Yes, Jethro Tull, Emerson Lake and Palmer, etc.

I started to realise how different my brother and I were.

1971 – first encounters with lithography, silkscreen, pastels, charcoal, watercolour, oils and acrylics on canvas or paper.

Shadle Park High had an excellent art department.

In a class I was washing a silkscreen with turpentine and very hot tap water. When I inhaled the vapour, I had to run outside and throw up.

Stopped painting or drawing from photographs.

1972 – won a National Scholastic Gold Key for a watercolour.

Jon Ericson played “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" by David Bowie for me.

My Vietnam draft lotto-ball was 84 and I was certain to be drafted. Fortunately 1972 became the draft’s last year.

Started noticing environmental issues.

1973 – invited to attend some Spokane Falls Community College life-drawing sessions and I was surprised at how unsexual nude drawing was.

Really enjoyed painting outdoors. Learned how distance reduces detail, contrast and saturation.

Realised that firsthand experience with the subject of your art matters. Spent hours at the Spokane River painting.

Discovered that when I approached work with no preconceived idea it came out far more interesting.

In painting class a Swiss exchange-student painted abstracts. This was first time I’d seen abstract paintings. I started painting free-form paintings.

Fell in love with the paintings of Pierre Bonnard; he started my love of color.

Heard the term “Impressionism” – my first “-ism”.

Bruce, Rick and I produced 30-40 pieces each per semester.

My art teacher gave me a book on Modern Art and I still have it.

The Vietnam War effectively ended.

early 1974 – graduated from high school.

Thanks to my high-school art teacher, Claudia Schwab. She knew when not to get in the way.

mid 1974 – drew charcoal portraits at Expo ’74, the environmentally-themed World’s Fair in Spokane.

late 1974 – enrolled in art classes at Spokane Falls Community College; lasted two months, mostly remember roll-call by Social-Security number!

friends and colleagues (1957-1974)

Jon Ericson
(Jon has collected my work for decades)
Bruce Bollard
Rick Rice
Kennon Scrivner