Early Watercolors
My muse in the 1990’s was doing technical paintings in watercolors of flowers and marbles. I took pleasure in studying the light and form then trying to recreate this in 2D. I especially liked trying to push the limit of letting the properties of the watercolor paint have its way, yet trying to control it enough to produce an image. I allowed myself this time, knowing that this technical experimentation and practice was in preparation for creating works of art, later that were less driven by the head and more from the heart.
Abstract Work
Making the abstract watercolors was and exploration in design, technique and expressing an vision or feeling that was somewhat driven by the unconscious. The abstract watercolor gave way to the “chaos series”.
Chaos Series in Watercolors
This series of paintings was inspired by noticing fractal designs in nature and in other artwork, such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Tobey. It was my desire to create a visual experience of chaos that allowed the natural properties of the paint to take over. The tangled web of lines represents the chaotic paths of our lives. This artwork reminds me that we need to step back from our chaotic lives and see that things will eventually come together in ways that we cannot always know or predict. The center of the pictures represents the peaceful resolution to the chaos and the journey that moves on through time.
The Return to Oils
In 2007 I reconnected with an old college friend…my oil paints! I purchase an “Open Box M” and away I went! I took my oils paints out to Sierra Nevada College and took a workshop with Gregory Kondos, a wonderful landscape painter from Sacramento. I also studied with Ron Anderson and David Jewell back at the Columbus College of Art and Design.
I wanted to capture the natural beauty of the land in Hilliard that is getting gobbled up by development and preserve what is left of it in through my paintings. The series "Heaven and Nature", is about the land that heaven reaches down and touches. Who does this land really belong to, anyway? Other landscape series include, "Future Sites of Something Else" and "Ethereal Landscapes".
The beautiful frames that frame my plein air oil painting are lovingly handmade by my husband and are worthy of distinction. They are made from poplar with a clear tung oil finish. The frames float the canvas and panel painting over a black background.
He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.-St Francis of Assisi
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