Abstract Expressionist / Cubist style acrylic and oil painting on wood titled Spore Painting #2 by Jeff Koegel (see Notes below). This painting was completed in 1996 and mounted in an artist-crafted custom wood frame. As with much of his work, Koegel not only used media in traditional ways but manipulated layered materials to produce depth and texture to his work. Here the surface has deep scratches and peeled back sections to highlight the depth of feeling in the subject. This large piece measures 59.5" tall, 35" wide and 2.25" deep and has a hanging wire. Signed on the back by the artist. This painting was created by the artist at his studio in Laguna Beach and was donated to a local school in the early 2000s for a fundraising auction event, where it was purchased and has been held in a private collection since. A large, expressive work with iconographic and nature-inspired references sure to enliven a space. Notes: Jeff Koegel, educated at Cal Poly Pomona and later at Cal State Fullerton in the early 1980s, established his design business in Laguna Beach in 1990, providing graphic design and illustration services, later growing into an inter-disciplinary studio serving ad agencies, design firms and publishing companies. His designs draw from a diversity of aesthetic models such as byzantine icons, aboriginal art, American folk art, technical schematics, tatoos and ikebana. He has worked as a painter, art director, graphic designer and illustrator for a wide range of clients including the American Craft Museum, American Express, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Duracell, Bayer and Frankfurter Allgemaine. He has earned recognition from American Illustration, Graphis, Communication Arts and the Society of Illustrators and has been featured in gallery exhibits in the US and Europe.