The Glass Coin

I'm stoked that my painting, "Your Voice Was Smooth; Like Water Running Over Rocks" was chosen as the October cover art for Ontario-based Literary Zine, The Glass Coin.  The Glass Coin is a split-themed open zine that explores both sides of an idea...examples are "Heroes and Villains", "Eureka! and Oops!", and October's theme was "Oil and Watercolor".  

"Your Voice Was Smooth; Like Water Running Over Rocks"

24" x 36" x 1.5"

Oil and Mixed on Canvas

The irony lies in the fact that I used both of these seemingly unfriendly media in the painting that was chosen, and then some. I often work in collage, ink, acrylics, oils and watercolor in the same piece.  Maybe that makes me indecisive and a bit schizophrenic, or the other part of me believes that's my way of just trying to make everything get along in a sort of peaceful harmony that can be achieved only when the composition feels finished.


By the way, this piece is on display at The Blues Jean Bar in Snider Plaza and available for purchase. Message me for more details.

Solitary Pine

10" x 11 3.4"
Watercolor on Paper

"God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools." ~John Muir

One of the fun things about moving (and there really aren't many) is finding hidden treasures from the past. As I packed and unpacked boxes, I came across this lovely watercolor from years ago. I was struck by the fact that when I painted this, I was searching for my artistic voice. Now looking back, it's clear that my voice was present long before I had discovered it...nature's earthy, organic essence have simply always been a part of my paintings.

Another thing I found in a dusty box from the attic are my old journals from high school and college. I have always been a writer, and am looking forward to delving into these relics to see the growth that has occurred over the years. It's almost like having a meeting with my past self...strange. I'm quite certain these words and works from my past will fuel my current creative fire for quite some time.

By the way, this painting is for sale on Etsy if you want to check it out.

I made the front page of Etsy!

Effervescence
8" x 12"
Watercolor and Ink on Paper

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34351338

In the midst of celebrating the arrival of our beautiful baby boy this weekend, it was fun to learn that my painting, Effervescence, was featured on the front page of Etsy. It was like the icing on the cake of one of the most wonderful weekends of my life. The exposure was great and my art reached so many people who otherwise would not have seen it.

These little circles remind me of bubbles, or pebbles, and these circular images have always been a part of what I create. This painting was done on heavy watercolor paper. I don't often work on paper, but when I do, I find that it is often a freer way to express my ideas. There's something about getting a painting started on a blank gallery-wrapped canvas that always intimidates me...I wonder if that will ever go away? Probably not, but it's those creative butterflies that I can't live without.

Effervescence

8" x 12"

Watercolor and Ink on Paper

"The Struggle is optional. Let it go." Jill Badonsky

I can't seem to get away from my circular shapes. Some call them cells, pebbles, eyes...they always seem to manifest themselves somewhere in my artwork. In this painting they seem to be coexisting peacefully with each other, letting each other rise and fall without hindrance.

I'm trying to remember to breathe calmly in the beauty of each moment, that life is unfolding exactly the way it is supposed to. Letting the struggle go is easier said than done, but I'm making a conscious effort.

River of the Dawn

9" x 9"

Watercolor and Mixed Media on Paper

This week I have been feeling hopeful. I was inspired by Pablo Neruda's Sonnet 49 for this piece:

It's today: all of yesterday dropped away

among the fingers of the light and the sleeping eyes.
Tomorrow will come on its green footsteps;
no one can stop the river of the dawn.

No one can stop the river of your hands,
your eyes and their sleepiness, my dearest.
You are the trembling of time, which passes
between the vertical light and the darkening sky.

The sky folds its wings over you,
lifting you, carrying you to my arms
with its punctual, mysterious courtesy.
That is why I sing to the day and to the moon,
to the sea, to time, to all the planets,
to your daily voice, to your nocturnal skin.

It's today: all of yesterday dropped away
among the fingers of the light and the sleeping eyes.
Tomorrow will come on its green footsteps;
no one can stop the river of the dawn.

It's today, it's today...

Silent Reverie

8" x 12"

Watercolor and Mixed Media on Paper

Listening to "Angel" by Sarah MacLachlan in the studio stirred a longing for comfort and quiet amidst a very tumultuous time:

Spend all your time waiting

For that second chance

For a break that would make it okay

Theres always one reason

To feel not good enough

And its hard at the end of the day

I need some distraction

Oh beautiful release

Memory seeps from my veins

Let me be empty

And weightless and maybe Ill find some peace tonight

In the arms of an angel

Fly away from here

From this dark cold hotel room And the endlessness that you fear You are pulled from the wreckage Of your silent reverie

Youre in the arms of the angel May you find some comfort there