Parts of Art

     I've been talking a lot about the importance of having a muted palette, meaning very little color.  But lately, I've wanted to add color to some of the paintings that I did over the last few years. So that's what I've been doing. I just added color to this piece. It was called The Clearing, and it was a very monotone palette. It was actually one of the favorite paintings at my shows. But you know, it just didn't sell. So I decided to take a breath, (a couple of breaths actually), and re-work this painting, add color, and actually change the path of light in the painting.        So what do you think now? I kind of like it! I like the new light coming through, and I like the blues that are in here now, that didn't used to be, and the light browns and yellows. And I like this little trunk, that gives you a place to sit when you're at the clearing of the woods. A limited edition print of the original Clearing is   available here.  ...

      I've had a blank canvas staring at me for awhile, so I decided to throw some color on it. Then one thing led to another, and now it's a full fledged work in progress.        Sometimes when I show my art, people think it's batik. The process is indeed similar to batik, where melted wax is used to block dye colors. Instead of wax and dye, however,  I paint with watercolor and fluid mask. Watercolor is simply colored water, and the key to fresh, sparkling watercolor is to retain the light.        Here's the process: Sketch out the design. Paint fluid mask on the parts that need to remain white. Once the mask is dry, go ahead and paint right over it. Once the paint is dry, remove the mask and you will discover that the light areas have been saved. It's satisfying and therapeutic to peek off the mask. It balls up like rubber cement.  With this process, you can build up layer over layer of color and the lig...

 Patterns is part of my "Of the Woods" miniseries. I combine paint, papers, ink, wax resist, linocut printing, fabric, colored pencils and canvas.  My aim is to combine these various materials to express life in its untamed tangle of exuberant growth. I want to offer a place of solace where, like the tallest trees, one can reach up to the heavens. Patterns is mounted on illustration board; the final size is 8” x 10”. This piece and many more will be available  at the Broad Ripple Art Fair,  May 14th and 15th in Indianapolis, IN

                                               Here's the latest art on the easel "Of the Woods  mini- series" and by mini series I mean 8 x 10"each.       I combine paint, papers, ink, wax resist, linocut printing, fabric, colored pencils and canvas. My aim is to combine these various materials to express life in its untamed tangle of exuberant growth. I want to offer a visual place of solace where,  like the tallest  trees,  one can reach up  to the heavens. These pieces and more are  in my shop here

    I wrote a few months ago about my series of mixed media collages entitled "Of the Woods".  I was originally inspired to do this series in 2015, when I began going out to the woods to paint, draw, think and pray. Of that time period, I wrote the following, which is almost prophetic as I read it now.  “I am personally drawn to the place like a hungry person is to a good meal. It feeds my soul to spend time out here. I have already formulated a plan for a body of work. Not jewelry, but mixed media woodland paintings. Being in the woods is reminiscent of childhood, where I spent hours in the woods next door and across the street. In my imagination I lived out there. That is, after all, where I would go as a child to talk to God. So once again I have come full circle to the cabin in the woods.”      By 2018 I had developed several paintings that were, by their very nature, "of the woods". The colors and textures were very muted and neutral, just like t...

 So I’m back in the woods, and here’s what I mean by that:       It all started when we moved back to Indiana from Florida eight years ago. We moved here to help my in-laws in their last season of life. It was a decision that had been bathed in prayer and much discussion over a long period of time. Finally, the timing became clear and right. So we moved here, to my husbands boyhood home in rural Indiana, in late summer, 2013. Not because it was convenient (it wasn’t) but because there was a need and we were the best choice to fill the need.        It took awhile but we adjusted to our new home and new responsibilities. David’s dad’s health was declining rapidly by the time we moved here, but he was gracious and thankful to the end, and I am so glad to have had the time with him that we had.       Once he passed, life and routine changed, especially in regards to my mother in law. David became increasingly wrapped up in her care...

   When my husband and I visited Bavaria in celebration of our 40th anniversary, we spent a few days in a delightful garden cottage in Gebsattel. Right outside the door was a patch of fragrant blossoming bushes that were absolutely populated with butterflies.     The whole garden space was alive, not only with plants, but with the fluttering activity of glorious winged creatures that covered the many blooms. I was inspired by this sight and wanted to capture it with my camera for future paintings. I determined that, once stateside, I would find out whatever this exotic flowering bush was.   Come spring, I started my quest to identify the flower. At my local nursery I showed the picture to the gardener. Her reply?  "I have no idea what the plant is, but the photograph is beautiful! You should be an artist!"        I chose not to go into detail about how I AM an artist, and that's the whole point here. That by then I had done sketches...

       Shenanigans  | SHəˈnanəgənz |  pl. noun  informal  secret or dishonest activity or maneuvering :  “ widespread financial shenanigans had ruined the fortunes of many .” •  silly or high-spirited behavior;  mischief . ORIGIN  mid 19th cent. : of unknown  origin .         There will come a time when said shenanigans are over and our lives  will return to some version of normal. So what, until then, do we do?           This past year and a half, as you may already know, I have been immersed in a body of work called “Of the Woods ”. It has been quite an exercise of patient endurance for me, to come up with a series of new pieces and get them completed, photographed, and professionally framed. It’s been like planting seeds in ground that would produce fruit eventually, but its artwork instead of food. And because I had made the decision to give it a year and...

OF THE WOODS                                                                                 Ferns Mixed Media collage 20 x 32 framed $425 Woods Edge Mixed Media Collage 20 x 32 framed $425 Winter Woods Mixed Media Collage 20 x 32 Framed  $425                                                

    My current series of mixed media collages is “Of the Woods”. As you can see here, I am literally in the woods, and won’t be out for quite a while! Here is another page from my journal.  It is actually the view out my studio window. This little collage later inspired me to do a large version of it, which I will show you soon.       Here is the same view out the window, back in September. This one also led to a series of larger mixed media collages, which I plan to exhibit next year.