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 II, Detail

WIRED II, Detail

 

REALMS II, 2024

Acrylic, ink, quartz, 24k pigment powder, stones and glass pieces, 24” x 36”.

Inquire for price

REALMS II, Detail

 
 
 
 

REALMS Earth, Detail

REALMS Earth, Detail

 

REALMS Sky, Detail

REALMS Sky, Detail

REALMS Sky, Detail

REALMS, Diptych, 2024

Acrylic, ink, quartz, 24k pigment powder, stones, glass pieces and glitter, 28.5" x 49".

Inquire for price

 

WATERFALL, EVENING, 2024

Acrylic, ink, glass, 24k powder, pyrite and rock crystal. 30” x 30”.

WATERFALL, EVENING, Detail

WATERFALL, EVENING, Detail

 

WIRED, 2018

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

Inquire for price

WIRED, Detail

WIRED, Detail

 

BRILLIANT, 2023

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

BRILLIANT, Detail

BRILLIANT, Detail

 

PRISTINE OCEAN, 2023

Oil, pastel, wax on panel, 30” x 30”. Private Collection, Mill Valley, California.

PRISTINE OCEAN, Detail

PRISTINE OCEAN, Detail

 

VERDANT, 2022

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

VERDANT, Detail

VERDANT, Detail

 

PORTRAIT OF TEAGAN; YELLOW FIRE, 2023

Oil, 24 karat gold powder on panel, 15”x 15”. Private Collection, Boulder, Colorado.

PORTRAIT OF TEAGAN, Detail

PORTAIT OF TEAGAN, Detail

 

COLLABORATION WHITE, 2023

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

COLLABORATION WHITE, Detail

 

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, California. 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.

SAGE IN THE NIGHT PINE, Detail

 
 

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".

Inquire for price

GLACIAL, Detail

GLACIAL, Detail

 

PORTRAIT OF SIENA, 2018

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

PORTRAIT OF SIENA, Detail

PORTRAIT OF SIENA, Detail

 

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.

BAKARA’S DREAM, Detail

BAKARA’S, Detail

 

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.

TOTEM II, Detail

TOTEM II, Detail

 

BULGARIAN BLACK SEA COAST: TWILIGHT, 2018

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

BULGARIAN BLACK SEA COAST: TWILIGHT, Detail

BULGARIAN BLACK SEA COAST: TWILIGHT, Detail

 

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".

Inquire for price

DARK ECLIPSE, Detail

DARK ECLIPSE, Detail

 

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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SOLAR QUARRY, Detail

SOLAR QUARRY, Detail

 

BLACK SWAN MIRACLE: HUMAN RACE SAVES GLACIERS, 2017

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

Inquire for Price

BLACK SWAN MIRACLE, Detail

BLACK SWAN MIRACLE, Detail

 

Detail, STORM, 2016

Oil, pastel, pigment powders, metallic powders, iridescent glass on panel, 46 1/2” x 45 1/2”. Private Collection, Seattle, Washington.

 
 

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...

Inquire for Price

PRISTINE PELAGIC SQUARE, Detail

PRISTINE PELAGIC SQUARE, Detail

 

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.

THERE IS A CRACK IN EVERYTHING, Detail

THERE IS A CRACK IN EVERYTHING, Detail

 

APHRODISIAC, 2016

Oil, bronze and pigment powders, pastel on panel.

Inquire for Price

APHRODISIAC, Detail

APHRODISIAC, Detail

 

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

Inquire for Price

BROTHER, SISTER PUT DOWN THE BLADE, Detail

BROTHER, SISTER PUT DOWN THE BLADE, Detail

 

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.

FLEURAGE, Detail

FLEURAGE, Detail

 

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.

ALCHEMIST’S BRAIN, Detail

ALCHEMIST’S BRAIN, Detail

 

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.

TOTEM, Detail

TOTEM, Detail

 

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.

CERISIA, Detail

CERISIA, Detail

 

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.

FAIRYTALE II, Detail

FAIRYTALE II, Detail

 

SHIMMER SYNTH, 2014

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

SHIMMER SYNTH, Detail

SHIMMER SYNTH, Detail

 

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.

LEAPFROG, Detail

LEAPFROG, Detail

 

FRISSION, 2014

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

The word “frission”, found in the Urban Dictionary, is defined as: a sizzling, sparkling synergy borne of mutual intent, talent, and vision. I’ve used animistic poetic license in naming my painting as the synergy between a riverbank, and bordering (bamboo?) forest, envisioning inumerable interchanges between the  plant and animal worlds along this wild intersection.

FRISSION, Detail

FRISSION, Detail

 

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.

Inquire for Price

SNOW CAVE DREAM OF SPIRIT BEAR, Detail

SNOW CAVE DREAM OF SPIRIT BEAR, Detail

 

OUT OF BALANCE, 2011

Oil, Acrylic, pastel, charcoal and metallic powders on panel, 45" x 46". Private Collection, Napa, California.

 
 

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.

Inquire for Price

 
 

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.

FOREST OF BODHISATTVAS, Detail

FOREST OF BODHISATTVAS, Detail

 

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.

 
 

FAIRYTALE: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT DANGEROUS, 2011

Oil, charcoal powder, shattered glass, oil pastel, graphite on panel, metallic powders, 48.875" x 72.75". Sale pending.

FAIRYTALE: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT DANGEROUS, Detail

FAIRYTALE: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT DANGEROUS, Detail

 

ARGENT, 2010

Oil, silica, pastel and metallic powders on canvas, 48" x 65". Private Collection, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand: Collaboration Wines Label.

The beauty of vineyards after heavy rainfall, when the pendant fruit is luminous in the late afternoon light...

 
 

AURULENT, 2012

Oil, silica, pastel and metallic powders on canvas, 48" x 65". Private Collection, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand: Collaboration Wines Label.

Aurulent: of the colour gold. Deep summer, a rich grape harvest...

 
 

ILLUMINE, 2003

Acrylic and metallic powders on canvas, 72" x 84". Private Collection, Vacaville, California.

 
 

TRIPLE SPRING: BOY SWIMMING, 2003.

Acrylic and powdered pigment on panel, 46” x 72”. Private Collection, San Francisco, California.

 
 

HAND TO MOUTH, 2003

 
 

ILLUMINATION, 2002

Oil, metallic powders silica, automotive glass and mirror shards, 49" x 73". Private Collection, Menlo Park, California.

ILLUMINATION, Detail

ILLUMINATION, Detail

 

EVENING, 2000

Oil, pastel and silica on canvas, 48" x 60". Private Collection, Napa, California.

 
 

TWILIGHT OF MAGIC, 1999

Oil on canvas, 20” x 20". Private Collection, Seattle, Washington

 
 

THE BBC REPORTED, 1999

Oil pigment and string on panel, 28" x 32".

The Rwandan civil war still scars. This painting is a prayer for healing.

Inquire for Price

 
 

STILL, 1998

Acrylic, silica and pastel on panel, 48" x 96”. Private Collection, Carmel, California.

 
 
 

POSTCARD, 1998

Acrylic, silica and pastel on panel, 48" x 96".

Inquire for Price

 

NIGHT, 1997

Monotype, ink and pastel on paper, 13" x 16". Private Collection, Napa, California.