I’ve always been curious how much of the work we create is a product of our environment. There are long dissertations on the Nature/Nurture impact on each person’s development, but how much of the visual/sensory experience is consumed and metabolized and then makes its way into the artist’s work? This is an ongoing obsession of mine as an artist and traveler…
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My tree themed paintings are off in the world, having shipped them to the gallery before heading to the UK last week. 9 small-ish works as part of a group show with 3 other artists.
This became a very tight body of work, and hugely satisfying. Sometimes I resist a focused theme - I don't know why, but I often rebel when having to do anything! Even though trees have been my focus countless times, I like to just allow what arises to arise. But then again, being obstinate can be a real hinderance to one's career! READ MORE…
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Prepping for a show with a theme is often an exercise in restraint. This is not a bad thing - on the contrary it's about focus and boundaries. I've often mentioned the candy store syndrome, otherwise known as the Blank Canvas Stare. With so many possibilities, it's classic to become paralyzed and do nothing, except maybe the laundry. But with a theme, I'm less distracted by the vastness of the Universe, and grounded by …
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Now that my 30 Days of Aqua paintings are complete, they are finding themselves pairing up with their mates. Something about their natural affiliations make me happy, like finding one's tribe.
Even though the color Aqua is the tie that binds these paintings together, I wanted to be free to explore different strokes, and include imagery, or whatever I felt inclined to do in the moment. Sometimes just one limiting factor can throw the doors of freedom wide open…
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Sometimes I set myself a painting challenge, to create boundaries in the candy store that is art-making. As summer heats up, my gaze turns to the cooling effect of Aqua. Doesn't matter in what way it shows up, but in land-locked Colorado, it gives me a a sense of water, flow, diving in to something that isn't rock.
These paintings are fast and loose, pint sized and purposely affordable. I love working small - there is less…
As I prepare for my weekend workshop here in Boulder, I'm reflecting on the title and focus of this workshop. I first heard the quote "Courage is more important than Confidence" from the designer Debbie Millman. It struck me immediately that courage is the key to all creative pursuits and is critical in the broader context of ALL life choices.
There's an assumption that we must lead with confidence. That…
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Many days I cycle down to Boulder Creek to sit on my certain rock, now partially submerged from the high country run-off. This morning as I watched the frothy flow of water rushing by, I felt the urgency of the river seeking the ocean. And I thought of the human condition, always seeking connection with Source. It's the PULL of the Source, and when we allow our innate guidance to raft on the stream, there's no effort, it's easy to flow, and thrilling too.
This is true in the painting practice - it is a form of meditation in that way. Deep listening to the guidance, the flow, the…
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Freedom is my M.O. Everything I do gets run through the freedom lens. It's the pinnacle of my pyramid, the joy and challenge of my life and work, and at times, my curse to bear. I'm restless when restricted, confined or subjected to other's expectations. I rebel at the smallest fences, and the longing to head for the horizon is almost always greater than the security of staying. And it's just how I like it.
But what does freedom even mean? Your definition will most likely…
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Some people are steady at the helm of their creative activity, and are regular like roughage. That's not me. Try as I might there can be long gaps between painting sessions. Such as it is now, after the solid month of painting at my residency at Brush Creek Ranch. Sometimes I return from a residency - spent. Other times, energized, but am pulled away by life's other needs.
The longing to get back at it is a blessing and a curse at times…
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Something about the horizon line keeps showing up in my work out here in the wide open spaces of Wyoming. This is not the first time - the horizon is a composition I naturally gravitate to, in many ways - literally and metaphorically. There is an invisible tether that pulls, and sometimes yanks me toward the horizon, ever longing for the unknown.
This I think is partly the human condition, to be
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