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.

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Provincetown Boats 
2010 | Stencil Monotypes | 8" x 10"

Stencil monotypes printed on 100% Cotton Reeves Acid Free BFK Paper. Created during a workshop in Provincetown, MA with John Crane

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No. 5244
2008 | mixed media on canvas | 27.5" x 49.5"

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. 

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Bedroom Window
2008 | acrylic on canvas | 32" x 32"

I lived in a century old farmhouse as a child in New Middletown, Indiana.  It began as a one or two room log cabin and evolved through decades of remodels into a large two story structure with white siding and beautiful bargeboards.  My room was on the second story and the window faced the country road.  Outside the window was a beautiful line of trees, and across the street was Mrs. Gail's house - she was an elderly lady (born 1895, died 1985) who was a dear friend of mine; I used to go to her house and visit while she quilted or made soup.  This piece was created to emulate the paintings of Andrew Wyeth, a contemporary American artist who works mainly in watercolor and gouache.

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Family Quilt
2008 | acrylic on canvas | 36" x 36"

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 purposeful.  Sometimes we see things we want to see, and sometimes it takes a little exploration to discover the truth about someone...  

[Private Collection, Los Angeles, CA]

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Sweet Tooth
2008 | acrylic on canvas | 24" x 30"

A collection of 5 candies painted in acrylics - the emphasis on this project was developing complex color by use of a series of glazes. 

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Duplicates
2000 | enamel on copper | 28" x 34"

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.

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Self Portrait
1994 | watercolor on paper | 18" x 24"

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 -

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Plein Air Park
1994 | watercolor on paper | 14" x 28"

Painted "on location" in a Glendale, AZ park.

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Ruins
1998 | colored pencil and collage on paper | 11" x 17"

Assemblage of photocopied images combined with added drawing and colored pencil.

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Archangel Michael Vest, 1992
1992 | fabric paint on silk | 18" x 27"

Collaborating with a Phoenix, AZ based artist known for her altars and dioramas, I painted this image of Archangel Michael on a ivory thrift store vest and wore it to national theater auditions in the summer of 1992 and while portraying the character of "Teen Angel" in the musical GREASE. 

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Photobooth
1994 | graphite on paper | 16" x 32"

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...

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Part of our History
2007 | collage on canvas | 36" x 36"

Assemblage of vintage discarded photos, negatives, photo envelopes, etc. ripped, torn, burned and assembled on canvas. 

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Ironing, 1995
1995 | graphite on paper | 14" x 18"

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.

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History Mural
1990 | Deer Valley High School, Glendale, AZ | 6' x 6'

I didn't know if it was still around - so I contacted my old High School 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...

[Deer Valley High School, Glendale, AZ]

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