ABSTRACT PAINTING

My work encourages reflection about complex topical issues. Using an uncommon array of mixed-media, I incorporate found materials subtly yet symbolically in rich color backgrounds to evoke a visceral reaction from the viewer. If you envision a not-yet existent piece, please reach out. I love to collaborate.

WIRED II: CORONA TOTEM, 2020 – floor piece

Graphite, oil, charcoal and pigment powders, wire, rock, glass, obsidian, pyrite, acupuncture needles, metallic, metal and found objects, 43.5” x 48.5”

Co-painted with Lauren Wilson and materials expert Ken Boyd.

WIRED, 2018

Graphite, oil, charcoal and pigment powders, wire, rock, glass, obsidian, pyrite, acupuncture needles, metallic, metal and found objects, 24" x 36".

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BRILLIANT, 2023

Acrylic, pastel, copper wire, 24 carat gold and bronze powders, glass, stone on panel, 36" x 36".

PRISTINE OCEAN, 2023

Oil, pastel, wax on panel, 30” x 30”.

VERDANT, 2022

Oil, pastel, 14 karat gold powder, wax on panel, 36” x 48”. Collaboration Wines, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand

PORTRAIT OF TEAGAN; YELLOW FIRE, 2023

Oil, 24 karat gold powder on panel, 15”x 15”.

COLLABORATION WHITE, 2023

Oil, 14 karat gold powder on panel, 16” x 20”. Private Collection, Collaboration Wines, Hawke’s bay, New Zealand

CHRYSALIS, 2018

Oil, metalic powders, glass shards, pastel, iridescent insect carapace, mirror shard, and turquois. On panel. 24.75" x 48".

Private collection, Mill Valley, CA. Photography by Joseph McDonald, Digital Grange.

SAGE IN THE NIGHT PINE, 2018

Graphite, oil, charcoal powder, walnut and Chinese inks, pigment powder, glass shards, feather on sterling chain on panel. 23 1/2” x 35”. Co-created with Lauren Wilson. Private collection, Inverness, California.

An ancient native spirit sits high in the night pine under Dark Sky with brilliant stars, listening to the rustle of wind and the cries of night creatures. She prays for the return of Dark Sky.

OMICHLI 2018

Oil, pastel, wax on panel, 20” x 29.75”.

Mist and paving stones.

GLACIAL, 2018

Oil, pastel, wax on panel, 20" x 29.75".

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PORTRAIT OF SIENA, 2018

Oil, bronze and 24 carat gold powders, pastel on panel.

BAKARA’S DREAM, 2023

Oil, pastel, 24 carat gold powder on panel, iridescent insect carapace, mother of pearl chip, 20” x 30”. ON LOAN from the Collection of Ellie Kennedy and Shawn Kelly.

TOTEM II, 2018.

Oil, bronze powder, pastel on panel, 23.75" x 35".

Oil, pastel, ink, gold powders, iridescent beetle carapace, glass, and stone on panel, 24" x 30". Private Collection, Mill Valley, California.

BULGARIAN BLACK SEA COAST: TWILIGHT, 2018

Oil, bronze and 24 carat gold powders, pastel on panel, 23.75” x 35”.

SWIMMING, 2018

Oil, chalk, pastel on board, 24.25" x 48.25".

The sheer joy of merging with the sea, liquid against one’s skin, spray, waves surging upon pale beach with wisps of skittering mist… a strip of sunlight across the scene

DARK ECLIPSE, 2017

Acrylic, pigment, and metallic powders, pyrite on panel, 33" x 33".

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DEEP SPACE, 2017

Acrylic, pigment and metallic powders, ink, pyrite on panel, 34" x 52". Private collection, Petaluma, California.

SOLAR QUARRY, 2017

Oil on panel, 24" x 35.5".

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BLACK SWAN MIRACLE: HUMAN RACE SAVES GLACIERS, 2017

Oil, wax, pigment powders, ink, pastel on panel, 41" x 51".

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PRISTINE PELAGIC SQUARE, 2016

Acrylic, metallic powders, pastel, pencil on panel, 46.5” x 45.5”

A dream of an Ocean with no ultra-massive gyre of plastic, no underwater noise pollution, no over-fishing, no annual epic massacres of marine animals, no sewage, no mega cruise ships or super tankers: perhaps a tiny sailboat with lateen sail of apricot hue...

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SERUM OF MEXICO: HOMAGE TO JORGE SANCHEZ, 2016

Oil, pastel, chalk, 47.75" x 45.5". Private Collection, Inverness, California.

This painting is full of the energy of ladders and bright, strong colors. It’s a celebration of my friendship of l7 years with Jorge, a gardener. His kindness, sense of humor and magical ability with plants, animals and humans, has changed my life. After various challenges in Napa, he and his family returned to Mexico, and I miss him a great deal. He is now proprietor of a beautiful Michoacán store of fruits and vegetables along with his gracious wife, Elia.

THERE IS A CRACK IN EVERYTHING, THAT’S HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN: PORTRAIT OF A FRIEND, 2016

Acrylic, pastel, metallic and pigment powders, ink, iridescent beetle carapace, 45.75” x 46.75". Private Collection, Santa Cruz, California.

How does the soul transform during severe grief? Through many means. When the light seems to have disappeared, the will to heal requires deepest faith and courage often when we have so little energy to reach towards either. This painting is of the moment when the light first reappears, then burnishes and exalts.

APHRODISIAC, 2016

Oil, bronze and pigment powders, pastel on panel.

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BROTHER, SISTER PUT DOWN THE BLADE: CEASE FGM NOW, 2016

Oil, metallic and pigment powders, charcoal, mirror, razor blade, moss, wood, 24.75" x 48".

This painting is an outcry against the horrific, barbarous enforced female genital mutilation (FGM) of girls and young women. More than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGM is concentrated. In my understanding, the intent is to render women “safe” from sexual desire and so vicinity will be maintained. From either the woman or girl's viewpoint, creating such pain that there is no interest in sex / ability to have sex (so virginity will be maintained). I also understand that a family can use the fact of their daughter’s mutilation as a bargaining tool with a prospective husband, as chastity can fairly be “proven”. FGM is now happening in the United States due to migration by communities who bring with them this practice. While illegal in the US, and recently ruled a form of sexual slavery punishable by imprisonment, the practice is pervasive and heartbreaking.

* from the World Health Organization

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FLEURAGE: LE BLÉ D’HIVER, 2016

Oil, charcoal powder, oil pastel, black iridescent glass, ink and bronze powder on panel, 31" x 40". Private collection, Detroit, Michigan.

Commissioned by a baker who stipulated: "use red and black to create my piece!" The title and piece speaks of the casting of flour (winter wheat flour) on the bread board prior to rolling out the dough. The artist envisioned the interior of the bread oven as a foundry where the baker’s art is lifted to a daily masterpiece. This painting is the antithesis of the 19th century romantic atmospheric landscape, but is instead a claustrophobic firescape.

ALCHEMIST’S BRAIN, 2016

Acrylic, pastel, metallic pigments, glass bits, turquoise, mirror, iridescent insect carapace, gold leaf and wood on panel. 24” x 30”. Private Collection, San Francisco, California.

ARCHEOLOGICAL DIG: l960'S ROME AND MEXICO CITY, 2015

Oil, pastel, pigment, ink on panel, 40" x 69". Private collection, Napa, California.

A 1960s-style inspired commission, this piece was created essentially by scraping a razor blade continuously over the paint and ink surface, creating a hauntingly smooth (the feel of an old bone) finish. The repetitive scraping evoked of an archaeological dig, revealing layer upon colorful layer of information.

TOTEM, 2015

Oil, ink, metallic and pigment powders, iridescent beetle carapaces, pastel, turquoise, papyrus on panel, 45" x 46". Private collection Menlo Park, California.

CERISIA, 2015

Oil, pastel, glass, BB gun pellets, ink and metallic powders on panel, 45" x 46". Private collection Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand: Collaboration Wines.

What else to paint for her label when prescient New Zealand winemaker Julianne Brogden revealed her new work: Merlot-Cabernet Franc vintage hand-picked in Hawke’s Bay? A cerise colored painting with apricot splotch of golden afternoon sun, turquoise and deep green of sunlit and deeply shaded leaves and a BB gun pellet or two to shoot the stars in honor of the ”…very elegant, Bordeaux-like wine, full and youthful in color…”, as described by wine writer Michael Cooper in his 5 Star review of the 2013 vintage.

FAIRYTALE II: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT DANGEROUS, 2014

Oil, charcoal powder, metallic and pigment powders, gold leaf, shattered glass, iridescent insect carapaces, pastel, graphite and BB gun pellets on panel, 60" x 84.5". Private collection, Napa, California.

SHIMMER SYNTH, 2014

Oil paint, pastel, ink, metallic powders, silica on panel, 36” x 60”. Private Collection, Sacramento, California.

LEAPFROG, PIGGYBACK: MORAL CONUNDRUMS, 2014

Oil, oil pastel, graphite and araucana eggshell on panel, 24.75" x 48.75”. Private Collection, Napa, California.

This painting questions whether humans should leap over others, or piggyback on others’ achievements. The eggshell bits are a tongue-in-cheek riff on our moral fragility.

FRISSION, 2014

Acrylic, pastel, lead pencil, pigments, glass bits and string on panel, 48” x 72.5”. Private collection, Inverness, California.

SNOW CAVE DREAM OF SPIRIT BEAR, 2014

Oil, pastel, charcoal, metallic powders, wax, ink, graphite on panel, 54” x 78".

High on a windy hill, a strong winter storm topples a massive oak tree. As the ancient roots pull out of the soil, a small drift of snow enters the mossy cave of Spirit Bear, whose deep hibernation dreams are of Spring coming soon.

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CARAVAN, 2011

Acrylic, metallic powders, charcoal and water on panel, 24.75" x 48".

Dust, horizon ... adventure.

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SAMARKAND, 2011

Acrylic, metallic powders, charcoal and water on panel, 24 .75" x 48". Private collection, Berkeley, California.

The moment of embarking on a long-awaited journey; intense excitement, joy, anticipation and sense of freedom. Samarkand is an ancient, glorious city on the Silk Route.

ARAB SPRING: TAHRIR SQUARE, 2011

Oil, acrylic, watercolor, metallic powders and leaf, charcoal, ink, papyrus and pastel on panel, 45" x 46"

When 27 students protesting for democracy were shot down in Tahrir Square, a horrifying maelstrom of burning, looting, violence and rape erupted throughout Cairo.

Through chaos and extreme violence, with bravery, a stirring search for a new order ... The undercolor of this painting is the color of the human heart.

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FOREST OF BODHISATTVAS, 2011.

Oil, metallic powders, oil pastel and acupuncture needles, 45.5” x 46.5”. Private Collection, Napa, California.

Bodhisattvas — humans who are able to attain nirvana but delay doing so out of compassion, in order to save suffering beings — are represented as acupuncture needles floating high up in the forest trees. The needles, silver slim ethereal conductors of “good chi” seem perfect symbols of these compassionate beings.

black pool, 2011

Oil, silica, metallic powders, glass and pastel on canvas covered panel, 32.25" x 28".

Petroleum encroaching upon a sunlight tidepool: painting in response to the difficult-to-encompass Gulf oil spill caused by the British Petroleum company.