Winter is a very good time to be in the studio, especially for one who likes to paint when the sun goes down. There is quiet, and time, and lots of sketches from warmer days to start from. I am working on a few themes concurrently, and loving the physicality of working big.
My persistent studio soundtrack during this time is Joni Mitchell’s last album, Shine. It is a remarkable and cohesive reflection of care, concern and hope for our natural world. Not to mention, excellent music to paint by.
Madrona
Continuing with the Madrona series, I just completed 4 ft. x 3 ft. homage to an amazing tree. “Grandmother” is a well-loved landmark at Fort Worden campus, and the scene of many wedding and family photos. Who knows how old she is (100 years? 200 years?), she stands majestic and expansive, alone on the green, with Alexander’s Castle at her elbow.
My infatuation with madronas is not yet sated. Next piece will be a quartet of 24″ square panels, from a watercolor of the juncture of Grandmother’s trunk, her lovely body of color and form against a autumn blue sky.
You can peruse the Madrona series here.
Big Fruit
I have painted still lifes for a long time – “Pomegranates” was my first thematic solo show nearly 20 years ago at Art Home Gallery in Portland. And I return to this theme again and again. The new series is inspired by watercolor sketches I’ve been painting during my Abstract Open Studios at Port Townsend School of the Arts, a weekly practice of exploration and art in community. Fruit embodies agriculture and season, gratitude and generosity. And, in this body of work, I am embarking on “Big Fruit”. The new painting is 3 ft. x 4 ft. and the next one will be 4 ft x 5 ft. I love the impact of size. This piece will be showing for the first time during Art Walk, Saturday February 2, at PtSA Downtown, the exhibition location for Port Townsend School of the Arts. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of work in the Big Fruit series will go to non-profits working to support organic agriculture and sustainable land practices.
You can see more fruit, and flowers, here.
Water Ways
Since moving to this area, I have been painting boat scenes, and landscapes of our remarkable Discovery Bay. And so doing, become entranced by the shape of water. I want to know it and learn it, and explore how light and shadow and motion play, how landscape and sky intersect with its ways. You will find a new piece called “Dungeness” at Northwind Arts Center in the coming year, and eventually (somewhere!), you will see an installation of 4 ft. x 3 ft. panels that convey different Water Ways of the Salish Sea. As part of this series, I hope to highlight and support non-profits who are working hard to heal and preserve these precious waters.
Be sure to follow me on Instagram, where I regularly post works in progress, watercolors, student class work and studio-in-action shots.