Paint
Working in many different media, from collages to enamel and watercolor, I have enjoyed discovering new ways of expression, while quenching the thirst for creating that I constantly feel. Following is a selection of works I have completed over the years.
No. 5244, 2008, 27" x 50" acrylic on canvas
This was a fun mixed media on canvas incorporating cut and torn vintage photos, hand written text, dried foliage and other elements as well as a variety of acrylic mediums, glazes and washes. This is the first painting I have experimented with the addition of rust - using iron paint and a chemical to accelerate the rusting process.
Family Quilt, 2008, 36" x 36" acrylic on canvas
3' x 3' canvas divided into 16 equal sections - I designed a "Star of David" quilt panel and proceded to paint the canvas as if I were making a quilt - incorporating various items into the piece, including fingerprints, bits of paper, pieces of letters written by my late father and grandmother, as well as other symbols. Some stars are easier to see than others - and this is purposful. Sometimes we see things we want to see, and sometimes it takes a little work to see what (or who) someone really is... This painting combines my southern heritage (quilt) with my partner's Jewish heritage (Star of David).
Candy, 2008, 24" x 30" acrylic on canvas
A collection of 5 candies painted in acrylics - the emphasis on this project was developing complex color by use of a series of glazes.
Duplicates, 1999, 28" x 34" (approx.), enamel on copper
I was hooked with the first time I tried enameling - take a piece of copper, spread clear flux (powdered glass) onto the copper, and heat it up, melting the flux. I noticed everyone copper piece was a bit different - so off I went; trying different things; melting more than one layer of flux, burning the copper first, bending, hammering, scratching... the end result was this assemblage - beautifully framed in Los Angeles just after I moved from Monterey, CA.
Personal Space, 14" x 18" (approx.), colored pencil on paper
Part of a personal space project from Interior Design class, Middle Tennessee State University
"Self Portrait", 1994, 18" x 24" (approx.), watercolor on paper
Each element in this painting has a meaning - from the suede vest I wore to high school, to the book The Front Runner - to the art sketch book... even the background has meaning -
Plein Air Park, 1995, 14" x 28" (Approx.), watercolor on paper
Painted "on location" in a park near Glendale Community College, Glendale, AZ
Ruins, 1998, 11" x 17" (Approx.), colored pencil and photocopy collage on paper
assemblage of photocopied images combined with added drawing and colored pencil.
Photobooth, 1995, 16" x 32" (Approx), graphite on paper
Graphite drawing inspired by photobooth picture strips... I am on the left in each image - with friends from High School or just after High School - at the top, the director of a theater troupe I was in (Positive Force Players, second, one of my friends from that troupe (I was her date for Prom!), third, my "crush" - a pen-pal / friend I had who lived in California, and last, one of my first boyfriends...
Tree Backdrop, Deer Valley High School, Glendale, AZ - 1991
approx. 32' wide backdrop of trees with background cut out so that it can be lit from behind with a second backdrop. I was told to take down a certain drop and start this project one day after school - I lowered that traveller, spread out the fabric, and took magic markers and freehanded the trees - it took a few hours to draw out - the next day, I arrived in theater class only to be greeted by a very upset instructor - apparantly, I had lowered the wrong traveller and had "ruined" a quite expensive seamless cyclorama instead of the inexpensive "ready to be painted on", backdrop made of seamed pieces of fabric! - in the end, it all worked out - Deer Valley High School has rented this drop all over the area... I was really upset about it - it really did look nice though!
Part of our History, 2007, 36" x 36", Collage on Canvas
Assemblage of vintage discarded photos, negatives, photo envelopes, etc. ripped, torn, burned and assembled on canvas.
Mums, @1988 - 11" x 14", Oil on Canvas Board
This was my "first" oil painting. I visited an artist that lived down the street from me, and we made this in an afternoon. She taught me how to control the paint brush, and some of the general basics of how to paint.
Ironing, 1995, 14" x 18" (Approx.), graphite on paper
Originally this guy was ironing a shirt. I got so into the folds of the fabric he was ironing that it slowly grew to look more like maybe he's ironing his curtains or bed sheets! Unfortunately, the only photo I have of this was taken behind glass. Please forgive the glare.
History Mural, abt. 1990, Deer Valley High School, Glendale, AZ
I didn't know if it was still around - so I contacted my old High School (Deer Valley High School, in Glendale, AZ) - and sent a random request through their website and got ahold of one of the facilities folks - and she sent 2 photos - the second of which was actually the mural I helped paint in the early 90's when I attended school there! I remember spending time after school with other kids, sketching out the mural on the wall, and using can after can of house paints to color it in. I remember painting the flag, the smoke under the space shuttle, and the feather in the inkwell.
I look at it now, as an adult, decades later, and I see a lot that could be improved. The perspective is wonky, blending needs work, scale is off, but in the end, it's something that I did as a child and I am thankful to have an image of it. Getting the chance to be involved in projects like this as a child helps me to know that we can do anything we want to if we set our minds to it...
Victorian Lady, 1989 - 16" x 20" Oil on Canvas
I'm pretty sure that this painting has a code on the back of it "OM40" - which meant that I Owed Mom $40 for the class I took when I painted this. I was either 14 or 15 at the time of painting...