My Paintings at In Bocca al Lupo Fine Art Gallery

The opening is Jan. 16 from 5-8pm. 820 Main St. Oregon City, Oregon

This first painting is large; 30x40" on deep canvas stretcher bars. It is Untitled.

1450

This one is 24x24" also on deep canvas stretcher bars.

Granite.  850

Quirk is 18x24" also on deep canvas stretcher bars. 550

SummertimeBlues 1, 19x24" acrylic on paper.

450

Summertime Blues 2, 19x24" acrylic on paper

450

Dance 1, 19x24" acrylic on paper

450

 

Dance 2, 19x24" acrylic on paper.

450

Seaflowers, 19x24" acrylic on paper.

450

Mango Tango, 19x24" acrylic on paper.

450

Toybox 1, 19x24" acrylic on paper.

450

Toybox 2, 19x24" acrylic on paper.

450

Gray Matter 1, 19x24" acrylic on paper.

450

Gray Matter 2, 19x24" acrylic on paper.

450

Because I Can, 19x24" acrylic on paper.

450

Blueberry Muffins, 16x21" acrylic on paper.

450

Water Under the Bridge, 19x24" acrylic on paper.

450

There are a few more not pictured; I'll save those for the opening.

Inquiries here at the gallery.

I'll be taking a short break now; see you around the bend.

Onward to 2016

Blueberry Muffins, 16x21" on paper, acrylic

Have been painting every day now for several weeks, interrupted only by things I cannot get out of. 

Not ready to show very much. I have a little group show in a nearby gallery that I'm excited about. 

I'll announce that right before we leave for Mexico City.

I love making these paintings which I think of as puzzles.

The search. It's all about the search and the love.

Namaste.

Oh How I Love Summer

"El Jardin" 24"x48" Acrylic on wood panel

Oh, my friends, I have been transported to a heavenly place. Oregon when the sun comes out. When the garden is in full promise. My world is sleeping late, arugula, beet greens, cherries, rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, fava beans, tomatoes (just starting) and the last of the sugar peas. Roses, daisies, poppies, violets, gardenias. And paint. I finished up this painting last night after sending off my part of the manuscript to Stephanie and after searching online for hours for a place to park myself and my art supplies next February in San Miguel Allende.

Speaking of which: I know you guys out there are a resourceful bunch - do any of you own or know of a 2 bedroom house in SMA that you want to rent out for the month of February? Or are you friends of friends who own such a house? Long shot for sure; just thought I'd throw it out there. John and I are fastidious renters, quiet, non-smokers, merely a tipple of margaritaville as the sun goes down.

Okay, who wants to read all this blah blah blah? I'll have more photos next time. Just wanted you to know I'm still here, still painting, still in love with life and all of the earthly wonders. xo

A Dull Girl

Do you every get tired of yourself? That's what drove me into the studio today with the box cutter to do some cardboard box therapy and clean up a rat hole of empty boxes. After a few hours of slashing and trashing I felt much better. But I have been a dull girl for the last week.

I did the painting on canvas in acrylic of the peach tree. My peach tree is right outside my studio where I can watch the peaches fatten up day by day. Peach ice cream. Peach cobbler. Peaches!!

The painting went on for days; it was like that book "One Hundred Years of Solitude" only it was about the painting that went on forever.

Or maybe it was me. It's been two years since I've done a large (24x30") painting on canvas. Maybe I have to work through some stuff before I get my chops back.

Anyway I'm calling it done and have set it aside. It kept me busy and distracted which was a good thing.

I like the part about the peach angels. They are up there right now sorting through the bins to bring me some really good ones. They always do.

Plus I got to paint a face. I like painting faces. I noticed that most of the paintings I own are of faces. Faces and abstracts for the most part. Predominantly faces though.

The voice is soft and legible for about 500 words and then it poops out on me. Voice therapy next. Shellie predicted that by this fall I will be back in full sail. I'm holding onto that. In the meantime I made 2 phone calls yesterday and didn't do bad. The swelling is subsiding day by day. I'm practically good to go. xo

El Viaje

This is the first page in my new journal. Pisces on a journey, rich and strange. Not to a geographic place but to a place inside the body and mind; a balancing act of confidence and humility. A new place.

Jen came to visit on Friday and we painted all day together. She had given me an unpainted wooden triptych some weeks ago so I decided that was what I wanted to paint. This is the outside. I think of it as a moon viewing panel; what we see when we gaze inside and outside.

This is the triptych opened up. She is very insignificant in her boat now; waiting quietly.

Today our family gathers for an Easter celebration while Easter, the spring equinox and the 7th Day of Passover are celebrated by friends in other places. Our weather is dreary in Portland but our hearts are joyful for the coming season; it's always beautiful to watch the earth renew herself with stunning strength and energy. The baby goats are clicking up their heels and we're remembering all the Easters past when we hid eggs and made baskets. 

Thank you for all your well wishes. I've taken a little break from answering emails but I've found myself strengthened by the ones sent to me. Thank you and all joy and love to you on this promising, beautiful day. Namaste.

Collaboration

This last week has been huge. In that time I have spent several days at a 15 woman gathering in Washington state and following that a visit to a friend's house where 5 of us collaborated on as many paintings. We completed 5 canvases together until we agreed the canvases were finished (more or less. they are probably still evolving).

To see the video I made of the painting process just follow this link. And thank you Katie, Misty, Stephanie and Jen. A nice round of applause.

There is so much more to share but one thing at a time. I am frankly swamped under email and personal stuff. It seems like life is coming at me faster and faster.

BTW, this is my first edited video. You guys are awesomely patient with my learning. I feel so proud every time I try something new like this. xo

January Gratitude

It's been a quiet week; time for introspection and contemplation. John is fully engaged in putting up the fence around his garden that he has been dreaming of for years. I feel a little sad for the families of deer who depended on us for a nice salad now and then. How do the wild creatures live with so many of us on their grazing trails down to the Willamette River? But I understand; after putting so much work into the garden it is sad to see things crushed by hungry deer.

This DVD arrived in the mail yesterday and I haven't had time to watch it yet but I know it is going to be delicious. Daniella is a friendly and inspiring woman who I first met at a conference in Boston. (come to think of it I met her before that when we were both exhibitors in the Bellevue Art Fair). She had been a textile artist for years and combines that now with encaustic. For anyone with a love of wax and textile this is a must see. Oh yeah, the heart is made of Sculpey. Thinking valentines already.

Journal page. Working on many things at once; not writing as much each day but lots of painting.

This reminds me of the juice cans we used to wear in our hair at night. She looks like she needs a few more hours of sleep. he he

Keep on keeping on. xo

Faces

I painted 3 more faces in the FaceBook I started in November. I'm getting close to the end of the book now and I'm thinking about tearing it apart and using the faces in another project. It's really been a good exploration.

Young faces are all soft and rounded. As the face ages the bones come up. There's poetry in that, yes? Now that I've seen this on the computer screen I see she needs an ear. ha ha. I'll give her one soon. I like checking out the images on the screen. It's like looking at them through a reducing glass; you can really see the flaws.

Needs more work, more modelling. And more shparkley gold paint.

Reflection photo. Having fun with the camera. I'm learning to like January. Lots of time (at last!) for new interests and personal exploration.

The Overview

By climbing this ladder in our garage I was able to get most of the panel in my viewfinder without too much distortion.

I still cut off the bottom fourth but at least it's right side up. I added varnish, stars and mica and now it's officially done. Big happy.

I'll link to the wedding pictures in a few weeks and then you'll be able to see the whole panel.

Painting Me A Big One

Ah, the things we do for love. Remember Liesl who just got married recently? Well, in the interest of keeping the economy healthy, her sister Justine is also going to be married in a few weeks time. (poor Papa - I can only imagine!) Anyway, Justine's wedding will have a Parisian theme and I've been asked to paint a backdrop for the guests to have their pictures taken against. It's going to be 9 feet tall by 6 feet wide with a 4" unpainted area at the top for a hem so a rod can go through it. Since I don't have 9 foot ceilings in my house the only place I have to paint it is on my deck so here I am measuring the canvas from a large roll.

And this is where I spend the next 12 hours in a bent over position painting the canvas. Good thing I do my yoga regularly.

First I draw in the image in black paint. I often start my paintings this way. I think it comes from learning to draw from the funnies as a kid. Or maybe coloring books.

Anyway, I feel comfortable with a doing a drawing and then 'coloring' in the lines. I'm experimenting with other approaches but for this image I liked this one.

And then aie yi yi just stoop labor from here on out as I use my handy chip brushes to apply color and shading.

John comes out every few hours to record my progress from a high table top. This is the biggest thing I've ever painted and it took twice as long as I'd expected.

Once in awhile I got to sit down and do some detail work. Ahhhhh ....

Toward the bottom of the canvas I was racing a storm that was moving in with wind gusts and distant thunder. No problemo. Except for the leaves and dried gunk that wanted to blow across the wet paint.

Finito! Tomorrow I'll varnish both sides of the canvas to stabilize it against puckering (easy to say - more stoop labor involved) - and then I'll get a better photo for you.

Huge busy. Art in the Pearl coming up over Labor Day (3 days) and then I ship my boxes to New Hampshire and head out to Squam Art Workshops to teach again. This is the life I asked for and this is the life I was fortunate enough to have been given. It makes me feel so happy to be healthy and able to do so much at my age. Humble thank you's every moment. I want to give back as much as I can in the time I'm given. I want people to find happiness in self-expression and in being included and appreciated.

Life is so short when all is said and done. Nothing feels better than giving back.