Across the Blue

20" x 24"x 1.5"
Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas

This is a special piece because I started it before my son was born and finished it afterwards. I named it "Across the Blue" after some lyrics in one of my favorite Coldplay songs, "Yellow". I feel like the birth of my third child was a long and miraculous journey and I have now crossed over to the other side. Lead singer Chris Martin has said that the lyrics to "Yellow" are about being devoted to someone, wanting to do anything for them - writing a song for them, swimming across the sea for them and so on. He said that it's not necessarily a romantic devotion, but someone that you look up to and would do anything for...someone like my beautiful new baby boy. :)

Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow.

I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called "Yellow."

So then I took my turn,
Oh what a thing to have done,
And it was all "Yellow."

Your skin
Oh yeah, your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
You know, you know I love you so,
You know I love you so.

I swam across,
I jumped across for you,
Oh what a thing to do.

Cos you were all "Yellow,"
I drew a line,
I drew a line for you,
Oh what a thing to do,
And it was all "Yellow."

Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,

Turn into something beautiful,
And you know for you,
I'd bleed myself dry for you,
I'd bleed myself dry.

It's true, look how they shine for you,
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And all the things that you do.

Dance in the Sun

12" x 24"
Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas

I thought I was done painting until after baby arrives on Thursday, but somehow this one just sort of finished itself. I think the excited energy of all the changes about to take place crept out through my fingertips and manifested itself in this vibrant image. I applied a thick layer of texture to the canvas and basically carved in the images before I painted them and then I added the paint.

This pregnancy has been so difficult, full of surprises and ups and downs. I feel so thankful I have my artwork to channel all of this tension. The past six months or so I have taken the term "art therapy" to a whole new level.

I'm making a CD to listen to when baby is arriving, and this song will definitely be on it: "Dancing Nancies" by DMB

Sing and dance I'll play for you tonight
And thrill at it all
Dark clouds may hang on me sometimes
But I'll work it out then I

Look up at the sky
My mouth is open wide, lick and taste
What's the use in worrying, what's the use in hurrying
Turn, turn we almost become dizzy

These Small Hours

16" x 20" x 1.5"
Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas
SOLD
Velvet giclee prints of this and all my original artworks are available.

I wanted to capture these flowers in a fresh light and try a different color scheme than the current bold and bright palette I've been using. Because this painting seems calmer to me, it makes me think of quiet moments. I love working out in the studio, spending peaceful time with my unborn son. In three weeks he will be with us and life will change forever. But for now, I am treasuring these last few days of my pregnancy and enjoying the opportunity to spend these small hours with him.

This is my last painting of 2009. I look forward to what 2010 will bring. Happy New Year, and many blessings to you and yours!

"These Small Hours", Rob Thomas
Let it go,
Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know
The hardest part is over
Let it in,
Let your clarity define you
In the end
We will only just remember how it feels

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

Let it slide,
Let your troubles fall behind you
Let it shine
Until you feel it all around you
And i don't mind
If it's me you need to turn to
We'll get by,
It's the heart that really matters in the end

All of my regret
Will wash away some how
But i can not forget
The way i feel right now

Fortune's Flowers

16" x 20" x 1.5"
Acrylic and Mixed Media on Gallery-Wrapped Canvas

This painting got its name because tucked inside its many layers and rich texture are a bunch of fortunes I have been saving up from Chinese take-out meals gone by. I love opening up my fortune cookie after eating Chinese; it's a ritual that's almost as good as the meal itself. I hate to throw them away, so I've been collecting them in the studio with the hopes that inspiration would strike, and lo and behold, it did.

My friend Lara saw this painting and commented, "Gina, I think it's so cool how your work went from so brooding to so joyful as you get further along in your pregnancy (maybe a coincidence, but I am all about this fetus-as-muse theory!)." I totally agree with her. As the prognosis for my son gets more and more positive, so does the tone of my artwork. Even though it's hard to walk these days, moving around comfortably is a joke and my clothes don't fit, I am so overjoyed that in a few weeks we will get to take our son home from the hospital that I want to paint flowers for everyone!

Autumn Rapture

10" x 10" x 1.5"
Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas

Here is one of the most comforting, wise quotes I’ve ever read:
“Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer…”
- Rainer Maria Rilke

Night Cometh

16" x 20"

Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas

"I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of stars makes me dream." Vincent Van Gogh

That is one of my favorite quotes of all time because it reminds me that the possibilities are limitless. In the face of vastness, life is what we make of it, and what we create is up to us. So inspiring.

This painting is available at Artisan Style Gallery

(Uptown's newest cultural addition!)

2417 Mahon St.

Dallas, TX, 75201

http://www.artisanstyle.net

Lyrical Forest

7" x 15"

(3 canvases, 5" x 7" each)

Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas

The words of E.E. Cummings speak volumes to me, especially the poems about love an all of its mysteries. Their directness, their play with the concept of oneness, and their emphasis on the linguistic affirmation of "yes" gives them an unrestrained sincerity. I decided to write one down and tucked it in the background layers of these paintings:

it is so long since my heart has been with yours

shut by our mingling arms through

a darkness where new lights begin and

increase,

since your mind has walked into

mykiss as a stranger

into the streets and colours of a town__

that i have perhaps forgotten

how,always(from

these hurrying crudities

of blood and flesh)Love

coins His most gradual gesture,

and whittles life into eternity

--after which our separating selves become museums

filled with skillfully stuffed memories

I can't decide if these pieces work best together as a unit or separately, so I guess that means they can go both ways. I find the small size charming and plan to make more in this series.

This painting is available at Artisan Style Gallery

(Uptown's newest cultural addition!)

2417 Mahon St.

Dallas, TX, 75201

http://www.artisanstyle.net

Hide and Seek

16" x 20" x 1.5"

Acrylic and Mixed Media on Gallery-Wrapped Canvas

Listening to music can act as a time machine that transports you to where you were when you first heard, or loved, a certain song. I still listen to much of the music I did in my high school art classroom because it was there I met one of the most inspirational people in my life, my teacher for three years, Mr. Walter Linebarger. Wally taught me so much about art, and life, and overcoming obstacles that I am forever grateful. Wonderful music was always playing in the background...Counting Crows, Indigo Girls, Sarah McLachlan...too many to name. In those years I worked under him he truly left footprints on my soul.

I am fortunate enough to still keep in touch with him despite him having moved to Missouri several years ago, and recently asked him what he has been listening to lately. He emailed me a playlist and on it was, "Hide and Seek", by Imogen Heap. I listened to it while I was painting this and felt like he was right next to me again, with his hind softly on my shoulder, guiding me and offering support.

where are we?
what the hell is going on?
the dust has only just begun to form
crop circles in the carpet
sinking feeling

spin me round again
and rub my eyes,
this can't be happening
when busy streets a mess with people
would stop to hold their heads heavy

hide and seek
trains and sewing machines
all those years
they were here first

oily marks appear on walls
where pleasure moments hung before the takeover,
the sweeping insensitivity of this still life

hide and seek
trains and sewing machines (oh, you won't catch me around here)
blood and tears (hearts)
they were here first

Mmmm whatcha say,
Mmm that you only meant well?
well of course you did
Mmmm whatcha say,
Mmmm that it's all for the best?
of course it is
Mmmm whatcha say?
Mmmm that it's just what we need
you decided this
whatcha say?
Mmmm what did she say?

ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cut outs
speak no feeling no I don't believe you
you don't care a bit,
you don't care a bit

Before I Sleep

18" x 24"

Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas

These woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost

I am working through some rough bouts of pregnancy-induced insomnia. The upside of this is that I have been spending a lot of time in the studio, time that I don't have during normal waking hours because most of that is spent chasing after the kids.

This poem by Robert Frost came to mind, because it feels like this whole pregnancy has been quite a long and difficult journey, such a lovely, dark and deep experience. As I am heading into my eighth month I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but even after our son arrives there will be other obstacles to overcome, and miles to go before I sleep.

This Woman's Work

10" x 24"

(3 panels, 8" x 10" each)

Acrylic, Wire, Ink and Plaster Gauze on Gallery Wrapped Canvas

This triptych piece is a very personal expression of my views of womanhood and motherhood. I was listening to Maxwell's "This Woman's Work" in the studio, hence the title, and I can't help but be overcome with emotion every time I hear this inspirational song. Current condition aside, it always makes me think of that movie "She's Having a Baby" with Kevin Bacon, and more recently the piece that Tyce D'Orio choreographed about battling breast cancer on So You Think You Can Dance. Powerful stuff.

I used wire and plaster gauze to create some wonderful texture on this piece, it is so inviting to the touch. I think each panel is interesting on its own:

"This Woman's Work" Lyrics:

Pray God You Can Cope
I'll Stand Outside
This Woman's Work
This Woman's Worth
Ooh, It's Hard On A Man
Now His Part Is Over
Now Starts The Craft... Of The Father

I Know You've Got A Litte Life In You Yet
I Know You've Got A Lot Of Strength Left
I Know You've Got A Little Life In You Yet
I Know You've Got A Lot Of Strength Left

I Should Be Crying But I Just Can't Let It Show,
I Should Hoping But I Can't Stop Thinking,
All The Things We Should've Said That I Never Said,
All The Things We Should Have Done That We Never Did,
All The Things We Should've Given But I Didn't,
Oh Darling Make It Go,
Make It Go Away...

Give Me These Moments,
Give Them Back To Me,
Give Me A Little Kiss,
Give Me Your Hand Baby

Angels and Strangers

12" x 24"

Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas

People have been asking me what the birch trees mean, what they represent. The forests are symbolic of a journey to me--one I have yet to finish. I love painting birch trees because they convey a simultaneous strength and frailty that I can identify with...any given day I experience both of these feelings multiple times. It's important to be strong for those who rely on me, yet at the same time it makes me feel very small to know we are at the mercy of powers much greater than us.

My daughter and son were playing outside as I was finishing this painting, a very intricate little pretend game that I could only hear glimpses of as they ran past the studio laughing and imagining. When I asked my daughter what they were playing, she said "Angels and Strangers". I have never heard her mention this game before, but something about the name struck me and at that moment I knew I had a title for this painting.

In a sense, angels and strangers are in my tree paintings. People we know and love, people who protect us, people we have yet to meet on this journey through life linger in the forests. From the mouths of babes...thanks to my lovely daughter for helping me understand the meaning behind the images I can't get out of my head.