This is the final piece in a series of portraits I’ve painted to honor my best friends. As I worked steadily from November through March, in the appropriate succession of birthdays, the pieces evolved to reflect the processes I’m interested in. I began with small intimate portraits on wood panels; first oil pastels, then acrylics. I worked from favorite snapshots that I felt reflected a part of each personality. (see other portraits here.) In the last two I moved from painting on a white canvas-type surface to found paintings gleaned from Goodwill. Starting with an image that reminded me of that friend helped prompt a more expressive, free-flowing dynamic. This last portrait of my friend Paola began with a child’s painting of a bird. It made me think of Paola’s spirit and energy, and wonder what she would look like as a bird. I painted with no other reference and was terrified at first– like walking out onto a tightrope. But as I let it carry me along I ended up thoroughly enjoying the process, remembering the first feelings of how it is to create with such freedom. As a fellow artist, Paola has always reminded me to be true to my heart and do the work I truly love. Thanks, girl!

Just completed a project to re-design the chalkboard at work. Thrive is a raw-food restaurant that promotes health and vitality… I figured the piece that takes up the most real-estate on the wall should reflect that! (Board measures roughly 4ft x 5ft)

6″x6″ acrylic on birch plywood

6″x6″ acrylic on birch plywood

6″x6″ acrylic & oil pastel on birch plywood

I just finished this illustration (approx. 24″x24″, oil pastel on wood panel) for local folk musician Mike Greenleaf. I had illustrated and designed his last two CDs earlier this year (click here for that post). His new album, “Grandpa’s Dream” is currently in the works. I used Senellier brand oil pastels over an acrylic underpainting to achieve the vibrant color Mike was looking for in this piece. A fun project, & hopefully will provide some inspiration as he continues to write songs for the album!

The image on this poster is an acrylic painting on black velvet that glows in the dark. It’s featured in Artist & Craftsman Supply’s special Oct-GLO-ber show, along with several other paintings that come alive under blacklight! On view until mid-November. 4350 8th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105

Below is the current collection of ten paintings in this series that are available for sale as originals or limited edition Giclee prints. They are on exhibit July-September 2009 at DreamClinic Massage. I am offering an exclusive discount of 30% off original paintings for September only, the last month of the show. (prices listed to not reflect discount)
To purchase a painting or to order prints, please go to the Purchase Artwork page and follow the directions. Thanks!

Click image for a larger view

Title: Johnathan Learns to Fly
Medium: oil on canvas
Size: 36″x 36″
Price: $2,000
Purchase

Title: Kiss My Feet
Medium: oil on birch plywood
Size: 24″x 24″
Price: $500
SOLD

Title: Siren
Medium: oil on tile
Size: 14″x 14″
Price: $385
Purchase

Title: Evening on the Boardwalk, Santa Cruz
(the date is part of the painted image)
Medium: oil on canvas
Size: 28″x 22″
Price: $600
Purchase

Title: Learning the Lake
Medium: oil on wood panel
Size: 16″x 16″
Price: $400
Purchase

Title: Pacific Coast Highway Mosaic
Medium: oil on canvas
Size: 12″x 12″
Price: $225
SOLD

Title: Aruban Pelican
Medium: oil on canvas
Size: 20″x 16″
Price: NFS

Title: Made of Change
Medium: acrylic on canvas
Size: 24″x 30″
Price: $550
Purchase

Title: The Girls
Medium: oil on canvas
Size: 26″x 40″
Price: NFS
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Title: Audra’s Beach
Medium: oil on canvas
Size: 36″x 30″
Price: $1,200
Purchase

Pigments are used instead of dyes for a richer color that won’t fade. In fact, they have been UV tested to ensure that they will resist fading for over 100 years.

The printers used have a higher color range, (8-12 colors) instead of the usual 4-color printers. This means a better match to the original than any other process.

For each original artwork that is photographed, the artist works closely with the printer in the color-correction phase to ensure that the print matches the original.

Giclees are printed on 100% cotton rag paper, meaning that there is no acidic wood pulp to break down the image over time.

Limited edition prints, signed and numbered by the artist are valuable pieces in their own right and are the standard used by art galleries and museums.

The work in this show focuses on the mixed media work I’ve been developing this year. Many include my recent fascination with CD cases (jewel cases) as a surface element. Maybe it’s the influence of having worked as a graphic designer for a local CD manufacturer (Realtime Inc.) for a year and a half. Maybe it’s the recent CD design project I completed for musician Mike Greenleaf (see Jan. 16 2009 entry).Or maybe it’s just all the thoughts I’ve had lately of how quickly the world moves to update its technology, and the debris it leaves in the wake of this change. I enjoy painting on these clear little boxes, the dimensionality of painting on each surface and looking into the piece, or including findings inside of them to interact with the image.

I have realized that I am an impatient artist. My inspiration isn’t very polite– it doesn’t wait for a primed canvas and the perfect spread of paints. Creation for me is this inexplicable desire to interact with my surroundings, to tell my story with them. With this body of work, the creation of art is as much about how I see the world and what I choose to collect as it is about the technique of handling materials. With this in mind, I want to reflect on the time and place I NOW find myself– the things I thought about and what crossed my path along the way.

“It Doesn’t Matter, It’s Just Us, and Nobody Really Knows Us”-Mom, acrylic on jewel case with found cigarette foils and beer bottle cap mounted on book cover, approx 9″x11″

Look at What the Weird World Washes Up, acrylic on jewel case with pastel drawing, approx. 17″x11″

My reflection in a simple piece called “A Thought,” gold ink on an empty jewel case floating in shadowbox frame, approx. 10″x10″

My drawing today didn’t get interesting until I admitted my mistakes,
Until I stopped trying to be perfect,
Until I let the picture have something to say–
responding to what was really there, instead of my
expectations,
assumptions,
and fear.
I have often felt as though my art is my child–
If that is true, I don’t want to treat it like Michael Jackson:
Driving it to a destiny of artifice
and performance without substance…
Caving in on itself.
Honesty and uncertainty are the truly interesting things.

The human things.

Mi Casa, a house in Aruba, oil pastel on paper, 9″x12″