Sunday, April 10, 2016

William Kentridge Drawings in Rome - Elegy of the Ephemeral - A Contemporary Wall Narrative

William Kentridge is brilliant! Here he creates an ephemeral piece titled, "Triumphs and Laments", by erasing the pollution and organic growth along the banks of the Tiber.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

DRYAD

DRYAD, encaustic, mixed media, 2014
This painting is one of the largest encaustics I have ever worked on. It measures 4x5 feet. In 2010 it was a painting of Medusa based on Bernini's sculpture of the subject. (The locks of hair were once green snakes.) After looking at it for a while I decided to paint over the piece and morph it into something else. It never quite came together as a Medusa. What I love about encaustics is that you can  rework an old painting into something new with ease. All the previous layers just give the painting added depth and texture. Many of my paintings have hidden paintings underneath.

It will be displayed at Pech Merle Winery in Geyserville, CA through February, 2015. Drop by!

Saturday, November 8, 2014

More Experiments with Abstraction from Big Sur

View from Esalen at Big Sur
It has been a rough semester so I haven't been able to paint since the week in September I spent at Esalen in Big Sur. As I was driving down the coast to do something life affirming, a friend was driving up the coast and off a cliff ending his life. I didn't find out about it until a day later. That week it was painting that kept me together.

Esalen is such a magical place. While I spent most of my hours painting I had many interesting, deep conversations with people from all over the world in the early morning and late at night. Something about Big Sur lends itself to deep reflection.

My goal when I left was to experiment with mark making the way we all do as children. I told myself that I would only make non-representational marks and nothing figurative. I just played without judging and felt free. In the next few weeks I hope to take what I learned from that week and apply it to my encaustic work.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Show of Recent Work at the Spinster Sisters-August 4th -October 6th, 2014

Breathe, 2014
The Spinster Sisters restaurant in Santa Rosa will be showing my work from August 4th - October 6th. The paintings span a few years and include my most recent work. The reception will be from 5-7pm on August 14th. All are welcome.

Roots, 2014

Sunday, July 27, 2014

First Foray Into Abstract Painting & Homage to Lautrec

This is the first time I've ever tried working working abstractly.  Not sure what I think about this but I'll experiment some more.



I have always loved the painting, At the Moulin Rouge, by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. I took a painting I didn't like and reworked it with a face inspired by his work.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's At the Moulin Rouge (1892-93). Photograph: Robert Hashimoto/The Art Institute of Chicago
 I've been reading Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" and got caught up in that time period this summer.