valentine.

i used to see these xeroxed sheets up all over the mission, great thick line drawings with clouds and bikes that would say things like, be your own hero, rescue yourself. i always wondered where they came from and even had a few ideas of people i knew who might have put them there. then one day i saw this kid on 16th and valencia, he had his paintings laid out on the ground, they were on blocks of wood and scrap metal he had found. i saw the original sign i had fallen in love with and ripped off a telephone pole, and he had so many more great ones. he was selling them dirt cheap. later i saw them in galleries around the mission marked up closer to what they were actually worth. my ex bought me the one below when we first encountered them on the street.


the artist seemed like a sweet boy, who obviously was on something. about 8 months ago danny called me and told me he saw some RIP and graffiti up and he was pretty sure it was for the kid that had painted those paintings. i have three of them above my bed and the paper i ripped off the street in my room. i don't know for sure if he's dead, but i haven't seen him since. don't know what his troubles were, but all of his paintings remind me of something i try to never forget, no matter who we have in our lives, we're leaving it alone. i don't mean to be somber and depressing here, it's actually more of an uplifting thought to me- it reminds me to love and respect myself before anyone else. happy day before v-day! ! xoxxo