PAINTING & DRAWING

FABRIC PAINTINGS

Rendered primarily in ink, acrylic, and gouache on printed fabrics, canvas, and paper, my meditative figurative works capture quiet moments, yet seek to inspire a dynamic discourse and illuminate common threads that connect us to one another and our shared global experience. These pieces draw upon my early love of figure drawing and marry them into scenes and landscapes from my broad travel and cultural immersions.

ART IN THE ALGARVE

After living in Portugal from 2014 to 2016, I was forever changed. I now make regular returns to reconnect with the country that welcomed my young family in our tenderest time and shaped how we orient to each other as global citizens.

On two of those returns in 2017 and 2019, I partook in a delightful artist-led residency program, Art in the Algarve, in the historic working fishing town of Olhão. Working with a small group of traveling artists in short intensive sessions, I created multiple series that capture the essence of my emotions and the simple details of our surroundings.

I deepened my knowledge of pastels on paper with Diane Olivier, a connection from California, and broadened my mixed media toolkit with UK artist Dawn Oliver. I have eternal gratitute for the discovery of the Berol handwriting pen, and what a little water does to its ink once drawn!

FACES & FIGURES

I was taught that learning to draw the human form is the most challenging and foundational skill in a visual art practice. Traditional figure work from live models enthralled me in the early years, especially the warm-up gestures that invited me to capture the essence of a pose in the shortest time possible.

When I picked up on a blind contour exercise to draw what you see rather than what you THINK the subject looks like, I ran with it, reveling in permission to be imperfect and free. As such, this ongoing series focuses on whimsical women distilled down to essential features and colorful feelings.

ROOM WITH A VIEW

Growing up between the mountains and the beach of California instilled a sense of calm and renewal in me that I continue to feel when I connect with the outdoors. I began landscape painting there in early high school.

However, when I traveled to Umbria, Italy in my early 30s for a painting residency, I found the unrestrained beauty of 360-degree views from the hilltown school location overstimulating and overwhelming. Until I noticed a striking view captured through the window of my 900-year-old 3rd-floor studio.

Admiring the completed painting from a few steps over in the room, I saw another, equally captivating but completely different composition out the window. A new painting appeared every time I changed my vantage or the light of day shifted.

The piece I started with the moon bright and high in the sky segued to a glowing moonset, and a mad dash to capture the fleeting, fading colors.

WINE CLUB ZOOM

This painting is derived from a live Zoom blind contour drawing session during early pandemic quarantine. I invited and engaged a community group that usually meets in person to connect and express themselves through this simple, accessible art form over a glass of wine. Though none considered themselves “artists,” the exercise showed them the unique and beautiful ways they could translate what they saw into something meaningful to the rest of the group. All were able to correctly identify each other’s subjects, drawn anonymously by their peers.