oil pastel sketch

With this painting, so much time went by as I struggled with placement, hues, light, pretty much all of it. There were a few major changes to the objects in the room. I had originally painted two pillars, then one, then ten of them, and back to one. I liked one the most, it gave a more unusual feel that has become a signature for the bleedthrough (past) series; rooms that are slightly angled and reach far into the distance, emanating an unknown feeling.

charcoal sketch

Here, a  massive room, with what appears to be afternoon light pouring in, was titled from the very beginning, “Last Day”. The intent for this piece was strong and stayed very much alive, even when I didn’t paint or look at it for days. Months went by and I still knew the feeling quite well whenever I approached it. The space is out of a dream where souls go after their life is over and a new one is about to begin. The room is always empty, but has remnants of spirits living on, unseen. The rush of light warms the space and I imagine walking through to another life. The feeling is of anticipation, similar to the last day of school where everyone has been let out and you still remain, perhaps just wondering around, finishing up and getting ready to go with unfamiliar excitement in your heart. A bittersweet feeling comes into play as well. When the lessons are finished and still fresh in our memory, a tinge of longing and loneliness present themselves, allowing us to ponder at what has been, knowing that it’s gone forever.

removing wax layers

Painted in a style categorized as abstract deconstruction, where the surface of the painting is built up with layers of wax and oils and then scraped away to uncover the raw canvas underneath. This particular style creates an unraveling effect of ages gone by, memories uncovered from another place and time.

It’s spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!  ~Mark Twain

A sudden death of a friend has left us shocked and bewildered. She was bright and full of laughter, so solid a person and beautiful.  I would like to dedicate these three recent paintings to Melissa.

When you were born, you cried
and the world rejoiced.
Live your life
so that when you die,
the world cries and you rejoice.

White Elk

One day many years ago, my husband and I were in a book store, Raven Used Books in Northampton, and I came across Peter Brown’s On the Plains,  a magnificent book of large photographs, all taken in middle and western America, of grand landscapes and spacious skies. It’s become one of my favorite books to dream to. The sprawling scenes of immense horizons, for some reason, calm my mind and make me smile.

Throughout the years, I’ve looked at these pictures and thought of doing a series of landscapes, bringing together the beautiful simplicity of land and sky.

Finally, it is the end of 2011 and I have just started this series: Where Earth Meets Sky. The difference with these paintings will be the omission of wax. I don’t want the surface texture to take away from the piece. The sky has many layers of smoothed gesso and then treated in the end with a high gloss polymer. The grass, however is carved out of wet gesso and then dried, giving a little texture to the piece. Oils are used in layers of intense yellows and oranges with hints of brown and green.

The beginning is always filled with anticipation, a new start that will give way to intent and subtle emotions.   This is of course, if everything goes as planned. To get anywhere at all, I will have to remind myself to go to that place where judgment takes a back seat and adrenaline takes over, eager to devour a challenge and where starting a new canvas anchors itself.

Here are a few stages from sketch to finished product. Over the course of about three months I step back and forth, adding a little, adding a lot and sometimes nothing at all. Then, somehow it’s complete.

The past few summers have brought some enticing visitors to the corner of my home, where mint grows in abundance. Its leaves give great ground coverage and coolness to our reptilian friends as well as provide dragonfly nurseries. When the mint blooms, it lures tons of bees and flies. They absolutely love the stuff and can’t get enough of it. At points of the day there is a frenzy of insects going berserk over these itsy bitsy blossoms.

                                                                                                                  Toad’s home.

                                                                     Even during Hurricane Irene