The moon looms through much of Adrian Brooks’ work.

Drawn in phases, the moon – sometimes crescent, sometimes full – adds a luminescence to his art as he tries to create another world  that includes bird-head figures instead of people.

Often there are waves of color, what Brooks refers to as “cosmic waves.”

“I’m trying to create these otherworldly backdrops …” Brooks said. “I’m trying to make something that is all inclusive, something that people can appreciate and make them stop and think for a minute.”

Originally from Houston, Brooks studied at the San Francisco Art Institute and is greatly influenced by what is called the “Mission School” art movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s that started in the Bay area. These artists draw their inspiration from the urban landscape, weaving in elements of graffiti and folk art and craft.

In “Giving and Receiving” Brooks builds on his trademark “visionary language.”

On the riverfront panel is the moon and a sky full of stars hanging over two bird-headed figures exchanging gifts – the male figure holds an apple; the female presents him with a bowl. Seeming to grow from the ground are colorful cosmic waves that wrap around one side of the structure.

The bird-head representative figures, which Brooks said are unconsciously influenced by Native American art, are involved in the “simple act of giving and receiving and sharing.” 

Brooks sees his Trinity Trails piece as part of a bigger vision.

“My primary intention is to show universal themes of love, loss and redemption – subjects that transcend race, creed; worlds too far away to resemble one place; and sacred rituals that could be part of any culture,” Brooks said.