Illustrations

The Figure Charcoal

"Blue Door Abandoned Ranch"

                                                

                                                         "Blue Door Abandoned Ranch", Jelm, WY

                                                                                 Oil, 18"x 24" (Sold)

Wyoming is my home. My sister-in-law lives in this very small community where there are old abandoned ranch buildings along the Laramie River. When we go to visit, we always walk past this house that is part of an old ranch that has been abandoned for many years. This particular year the poppies had bloomed and were being blown about by the wind. We just loved seeing them against the grey stucco walls. We walked back to the house and I spent 4 days tackling the wind as I picked bits of seeds and sage out of the paint. The colors were so reminiscent of many of the brightly colored painted buildings that give me so much joy when I am in Mexico.

"Painting Pots"

                                         "Painting Pots", Taxco, Mexico
                                                    Egg Tempera 12" x 14" $1,800

It is rare for me to work from a photo, but this was a special case due to the medium. This small painting took me four months to complete due to the exquisite nature of egg tempera. Her story is unique. I met her in the market place in Taco, Mexico. She is Nahuatl, an indigenous tribe directly descended from the Aztecs. I was on a special trip for the Smithsonian Institutions obtaining a collection of contemporary Mexican Folk Art for an exhibition they had coming up at the National Museum of the American Indian. She was painting pots in the street and we bought almost everything she had on hand. Her village produced these pieces. I asked her if I could take her picture and she agreed which is not usual. The joy and love of being able to create these beautiful works of art was expressed in the designs, care and execution of the story she told in the pots she painted. This work will always be a part of that joy I witnessed in her expression as she worked in the busy market place in Taco, Mexico.

"Mexico Bench"

 

                                          

                                                  "Mexico Bench" Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
                                                                  Watercolor 12"x14" $225

A family trip bought us to Playa Del Carmen in Mexico. I love working with stone especially on site in places that express the creativity of the people who live there. Mexico has some of the most highly skilled, creative people on earth. In an alcove of a collection of small houses condensed in the busy city, this concrete and stone bench gave passers by a place to rest and absorb life. There was so much silence in this place. And within the surrounding stone, an unknown craftsman took the time to make a relatively basic stone bench and alcove into a unique architectural place full of silence.

"Sarape and Mexican Blanket"

                                               

                                                             "Serape and Mexican Blanket"
                                                                Watercolor 18"x 24" $925

"Serape and Mexican Blanket" tell the story of the traditional weavings of Mexico. The colors and fabric move together in a mystical relationship of sensual patterns and structural folds. The light played dramatically against the plaster walls and created powerful shadows under the fabrics.

"Iris"

                                                      
                                                       "Spring Iris", Baldwin City, KS
                                                   Watercolor 18" x 24" $425.00 (Sold)


When Spring comes there is new growth and beauty. This lone Iris took my breath away. I was outside in a garden full of Iris at the Lumberyard Art Center where I was teaching. I felt this one Iris would say everything I needed to say. The depth and power of the interior color softly moved and changed as the light flowed into the outer edges of the petals.

"Grampa Spencer's Boots"

                                               

                                                             "Grampa Spencer's Boots"
                                                                    Watercolor 18x24 $575 (Sold)
This is a very intimate portrait that tells a story about the man wore them. The hard lines of the stone window brought to mind the hard cold days of moving cattle into barns hoping they would survive the winter. The heavy fabric they rest on is a reminder of wool blankets used to rub down the horses. Love the contrast of the architecture and flow of the fabric.

"Jeans and Mary Janes"

                                                   

                                                                        "Jeans and Mary Janes"
                                                                                   Oil 18x24 $675

                                                Permanent Collection Living Arts and Science Center

The folds of the fabric and the light and casual nature of the tossed jeans on the wooden chair expressed the end of a working day. The late afternoon light moved across the bare walls and bringing on the grateful end of a long hard day.

"Italian Geraniums" Monte San Martin, Itay

                                               
                                                                     "Red Geraniums"

                                                              Watercolor 14"x16" $450

Our family went to Italy and we stayed in a villa. I brought a travel set of watercolors with me just in case and I am so glad I did. This pot of geraniums sat almost obscured in an alcove of the stairs leading up to the villa from the street. The strength of the stone and the movement of the shadows and color moved together to bring expression to the bright red geraniums.

"Keeneland"

                                             

                                                            "Keeneland", Lexington, KY
                                                                     Oil 18"x 24"

                                Permanent Exhibition Living Arts and Science Center, Lexignton, KY

Fall had just started to come to Kentucky and the vibrant green was in the beginning phases of turning to brilliant yellows. Kentucky is known for its old stone walls. I grabbed my palette knife and just started working. The paint is thick and heavy and dramatic and the light was changing so fast I just had to move as fast as I could. I later found out that this stone wall was the remnant of the graveyard of the original family that still owned this land.

"Green Apples"

                                     

                                                                 "Green Apples"
                                                           Watercolor 18"x 24" $475

I love going to the smaller local health food stores in the winter. They have such great fruit displays that always remind me of the fruit stalls in Mexico. The fruit in Mexico is not processed or sprayed or treated and everyone who is selling it also eats it. I saw these wonderful green apples stacked up and brought some home to eat just to remind me of Mexico. Then I looked at the wonderful color and shapes and placed them on my wooden painting table and they became an intimate and expressive painting.

"Red Apples"

                                                             "Red Apples"
                                                   Watercolor 18x24 $475.00

                             Permanent Exhibition Lumberyard Art Center, Baldwin, KS

As winter started to set in Still Life became a path of expression. I was in the grocery store and became captivated by these gorgeous imperfect apples. The colors were just brilliant under the store lights and the experience of seeing them became a "I'm painting you guys." The very deep blue structural folds of the fabric allowed the relationship of the forms to develop. The boldness of the red apples became more vibrant against the soft blue silk.

"November"

                   

                                                                "November"
                                                                 Oil 16"x 20" $475 Sold
"November" represents so much of the Kentucky landscape and it so accessible for Plein Air work which I love doing. Kentucky is really, really green. I saw this lovely barn standing alone in a field with its beautiful stone foundation collapsing underneath as I was driving through the country outside of the city of Lexington, KY. I loved the stark landscape and how it contrasted with the briefly exposed soil where horses had been. The colors were deep, yet the diffused light of the November sky brought brief elements of light to the scene.

"Red Scarf"

                                                 

                                                                                       "Red Scarf"
                                                                                         Oil, 18"x 24"

                                       Permanent Exhibiton Living Arts and Science Center, Lexington, KY
I was teaching oil at the University of Kentucky and  and brought my students out of the studio so they would be able to experience what painting from life Plein Air at the Arboretum. We had been looking at the Impressionists and I felt the only way for them to fully understand their experience was to take them on location. I loved doing this work with them. Again structure supports the softness of the wildflowers and the dramatic floating red silk scarf.

"Husny's House"

                  

                                           

                                                    "Husny's House", Richmond, VA
                                                             Watercolor 16"x 20" Gifted

I was visiting one of my dearest art buddies who had just moved to Richmond, VA. He is a fabulous clay artist and this was his first house EVER! I wanted to give him something special from my heart to celebrate this amazing transformation in his life so I did a house portrait for him. I love the classic architectural lines of this totally charming bungalow. Watercolor was PERFECT for this piece. It gave the more structured lines a fluid, colorful, and joyful expression. Just what I wanted. I worked outside sitting on a curb across the street. I was oblivious to my surroundings. When I had completed the piece, I realized some neighbors had gathered and I received two more commissions. It was a really good Plein Air Day.

"Night Out", Blacksburg, VA

             

                                      "Night Out", Studio Work, Blacksburg, VA
                                                        Watercolor 18"x 24" $450

I painted "Night Out" in my studio while listening to a story about a Puerto Rican woman who felt displaced living in the US and went to visit her sister in Puerto Rico. The day she arrived her sister was amazed to see how much of the light and joy had been taken out of her by the hard life she lived in New York. So her sister took her shopping, bought bright red high heeled shoes that matched her lipstick and they went out dancing. I loved this story and found these red high heels in a thrift store. I was thinking of using them as a painting exercise for my students, but fell in love with them and kept them at home for many years.

"Mexican Pots and Blanket", Blacksburg, VA

     

                                            "Mexican Pots and Blanket", Blacksburg, VA
                                                             Watercolor 18"x 24" $475

This piece brought me back to the streets and narrow alleys of Mexico. Beautiful handwoven blankets were used to pack their pots to prevent them from being broken on the way to the markets.
The pots were created from the famous black clay mined in the state of Oaxaca. Every form was developed and supported by the architectural folds of the handwoven blanket.

"Pots at the Kansas City Art Institute", Kansas City, MO

                            

                                       "Pots at the Kansas City Art Institute", Kansas City MO
                                                                      Watercolor 18"x 24" $450

These pots were sitting on the steps of the Kansas City Art Institute where I was teaching Plein Air.  I loved the deep green windows and the empty ceramic pots. The hues of yellow and blue in the stone captured all the colors and I loved the bold heavy architecture. The charged watercolors gave great depth and shape to the pots and the classical architecture of the building.

"Roselle Court", Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City Missouri

                                                   

                                       "Roselle Court", Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
                                                                      Watercolor 18"x 24" $525 (Sold)

I love this courtyard with all the complex details and colorful marble columns. I was working in this area after class. The scene was complex, but the light clarified everything I was trying to capture. I fascinated by the deep shadows of the complex architectural details and perspective.

"Plaza Tower", Kansas City, MO

                                                

                                         "Plaza Tower",  Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Mo.
                                                                       Watercolor 18"x 24"
I was teaching Plein Air at the Kemper Museum of Art and felt students needed to experience the challenges of perspective in Architecture. I love the Spanish influence on the Plaza which is a very famous area of the city due to the unique architectural designs. The Islamic influence prevalent in Spanish Architecture can be seen in the reaching spires and the colorful blue dome of the cathedral.