Jaws

Oil on canvas.

24x36x2"

🦈 🥳 Happy 50th, JAWS! You terrified me, inspired me, and yep, the beaches are open this 4th of July (says one very bad mayor)

My first encounter with JAWS is burned into my brain, though I can’t tell you exactly how old I was, only that I was definitely too young to sleep afterward. One worn-out VHS tape, one sinister fin cutting through the water, and boom: obsession unlocked.

I didn’t just watch JAWS, I made it my whole personality. By 1984, I had a “Shark Study” notebook where I scribbled every fact I could find about sharks and taped in every newspaper clipping I could get my hands on. Spielberg pulled a Hitchcock, adapting, reinventing, squeezing suspense out of setbacks. Hitchcock did it from the silent era to the 70s; Spielberg did it on the ocean with a plastic shark and a deadline. Over the years, JAWS didn’t just scare me, it showed me how to craft a story that stirs the imagination. JAWS burned into my brain that story beats spectacle, every single time and problems can force you to be more creative than any perfect plan ever will.

So here’s to JAWS at 50, and remember: “Amity, as you know, means friendship”... and according to the mayor, the beaches are open. Happy birthday, JAWS. 🦈 🥳