August 4, 1974 (El Toro tarmac- after Patrick O’Donnell), 2012, Ink on Duralar, 23 1/2 x 24 inches

Patrick O’Donnell was one of the photographers who was at El Toro waiting to greet Nixon when his plane landed in California, and he let me make drawings from his images of that day. You can read more about O’Donnell here.

“That day, I think was my day off but I just came straight over here…What he did is, he got off the airplane, and then he talked to the assembled crowd, which was primarily military and family. Because, I think you had to have credential to get on the base.
Some people were crying, he gave a short speech, I can’t recall what he said…There was some crying.  Not a real long speech. He didn’t cry. “