Isn't this the time of year we do impulsive things?

I remember seeing the back of Malcom McMullen scooting off on his bicycle after I heard the door bell ring when I was in about 6th grade. At the door my nanny found a giant heart-shaped box of chocolates with a little silver bracelet taped on top. I still have the bracelet with Malcom's name etched onto it. How brave he was!
And dozens (30?) years later I drove my 11 year old son on an icy February morning to deliver roses to an unsuspecting girl. Just outside the door he had cold feet and we both realized the flowers were in danger of freezing before their prime effect was to be had. He flung them at the door- rang the bell- ran to the car- and as his chauffeur, I dutifully sped us away...
Ah! What speeds us on at these moments? Is it love?
Small collage with paint on wood. 3.25 x 6 inches, I call it "...loosing my mind".

2011 calendars

The dailypainters.com national group have created several beautiful themed calendars for next year. A painting of mine is featured in three of them! I have my Nest Hair lady in the Figurative calendar, a chicken crossing the road in the Bird paintings calendar, and Shaker bed painting in the Still Life Painting calendar. Some of the money goes to charity. Most goes to spreading the word about daily painters. So your purchase helps a lot of people. Please consider it. Thanks.

I didn't want to get out of bed

In the fiction of my painted stories, I create lurid and exploitative tales featuring myself as heroic character.

In that vein, the bed is a place to safely destroy the past, mourn it with the salt of tears, nest until blue and broody, and then create new relationships...
How fantastic is that?

I think she is finished...

having conquered the stag. No idea what to call this painting. Taking suggestions.

some words...

There is this wonderful Los Angeles times newspaper headline: "And who is she this time?"

Before words...

Because the internet was down I didn't get sucked into my emails and I was able to paint first thing in the morning... painted from 7 a.m. to 1:30 pm!

Deer Diary

Still confused... the idea for this painting is so illusive now... when I try to pin it down it moves away from me. Constantly I have to ask myself , "what am I trying to share?" It's intensely personal...A recurrent yet fleeting dream. Mostly when I see the stag he is behind me, in the corner of my eye. So to look at him head on is a bit strange. Not sure I want it so visible... is that better? Turning the stag into a couch?

a new painting

is in the works. You can see the stumbling and the inspiration. Still have layers of maps to add. After all she looks a little lost.

Marching Through

Flowers in memory

After making it through the winter I was surprised by the sadness that spring brought when I smelled the flowers I had planted for my husband. This is a large painting with maps and layers... acrylic on wood, 24 x 32 inches

Filling in the landscape

What is she looking at?

Pencil and charcoal on newsprint paper.

Steps to forgive

I think I've stopped dissolving. My painting has gone through as many transformations as my flighty horoscope-gemini-mood-moon-calendar! First I was too illustrative, then unbearably dark and shadowy. A frustrated brainless attack left the paintings a surface victim. Now, after today, I find the line and color are resolving themselves. In my own life I am starting to feel less the protagonist in a dramatic short story, not as much in the guilt ridden shadows, and actually, eventually, more substantial and brilliant. It took measures such as confessional tea dates with very patient girlfriends, driving across states to help a bigger cause, spending time rooted with siblings, working the gratitude list, crying salty oceans, and telling myself over and over that I forgive me. I forgive me. I didn't do it perfectly, but I can believe in more joy.

She's starting to get her form back!

For a while she was dissolving... I am so relieved to see her quietly emerge. I think this painting has a brighter future.

the beginings of a bleeding heart

Mona Lisa egg, tea, and me

Girlfriends holding me up

5 x 7 inches paint and text on wood panel

Sisters in field

6 x 6 inches
My baby sister has always inspired me to be a better person...
Everyone should have a person who believes in them- Believes they are even better than they really are. It makes you strive for excellence. It gives the world hope.

Girl in suitcase

Suitcases seem to be a recurring theme in my years... I have several more to paint. This memory was one of my earliest- a fear of being left behind once my parents made plans to move on.

Playing Pool

Playing games. My teenage years were full of games- all different types. This is JW at Chantilly. It was a beautiful pool table... with a smooth green felt... perfect if you ignored the small vomit stain contributed by one of my girlfriends. So much of those times seems to be a roller coaster as well. Highs and lows. Could the 40's be a repeat of the adolescent years?!