|
Art Background:
I'm fascinated with the way our brains use clues of shape and texture
to figure out what we are seeing. In my paintings, I explore patterns of
these clues.
I use watercolor and ink because I have found I can move them around
more quickly than oils, and get more color and texture variation than I
can with acrylics. In contrast to most watercolorists, I like to use hard
lines and darks in my compositions, and I spend a lot of time working on
textures.
Seascapes
When I was a young child, I spent a lot of time at beaches in
southwestern Washington. Then as I got older, beaches in Oregon and
California. I like to dive for abalone, build sandcastles and driftwood
houses, body surf and beachcomb. I like the way the ocean moves in
patterns with the rocks, sand and fog. I'm trying to capture this intimacy
with the ocean in seascapes.
Landscapes and Floral paintings
My father loved ornamental gardening and got one of my sisters and
myself deep into it. I enjoy figuring out how the pattern identification
works that enables us to identify different kinds of plants at a glance.
And I love the contrasts in colors and textures in a well designed garden.
People paintings
We are interested in human shapes and especially faces, because we are
humans and we can't help it. We are very very good at reading the
languages of human gestures. Small changes in eyes, mouths and hands are
interpreted immediately. This is the kind of thing I'm exploring in my
paintings of humans.
Personal History
I have been painting my whole life, as did my mother, grandmother, and
several other ancestors. I started painting regularly in 1987, after an
influential watercolor workshop. My teachers include Bill Kucka, Arne
Westerman, Doug Haga, and Steve Memering. In 2000 I moved to Gualala and
started painting pretty much full time. I am past President of the North
Coast Artists Guild, a member of the Board of Gualala Arts Center, and a
member of the Watercolor Artists of Sonoma County.
|
