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painting

A Road we must travel

Infused with personal experience, this body of work delves into the archetypal hero’s journey through the mythical underworld. My main inquiries are: Why must the hero go? What trials are they put through? What gifts or curses do they receive? What message do they bring back? Using my studies of Greco-Roman, Norse and Fairy-tale mythologies I dig deep into the psyche and traverse the underworld looking for gold to bring back to the world. Capturing the essence of these journeys to and from the underworld enlightens us all with new truths, new stories, and new freedom. Mythic and Fairy-tales demand seeming impossible tasks to overcome so that the hero may receive a reward of freedom, transformation, or true love.

I am fascinated by these timeless stories of heroes and heroines and how and why these stories have survived for generations. Most intriguing are the sufferings, near misses, and perfect timing experiences the hero goes through to transcend “death” and re-emerge a new. I tell these stories and engage the viewer through humor, darkness and pop-culture narrative. The viewer is enticed by the heroes’ risks and reveres the possible rewards. Darkness is a bonus in this work; when these pieces are viewed in the dark, the hero character will glow, genuinely emanating light.

"Listen To Your Wild Mother" 48" x 56"  oil paint, spray paint, graphite, gold leaf, 2017

"Sitting Pretty After The Dark, Deep, Fierce Wild" 58" x 46"  oil paint, spray paint, graphite, gold leaf, 2017

"Water Lady Loves Her Vices" 50" x 40", 2017

"Her Comings And Goings" 50" x 40"     2017

"Dancing Up & Down" 50" x 40", 2017

"Seven Small Deaths" 55" x 48"  oil paint, spray paint, graphite, gold leaf, Work in progress

"Everything Is Going To Be ok", 2016

This body of work, like all of my work, deals with personal, human suffering and the ability for humans to heal themselves spiritually. The imagery is based on dreams and metaphors that tell a story of suffering and confinement, inward exploration, regeneration, transformation, and freedom. The washy blue figures symbolize humanity and carry with them the various stages of enlightenment. They embody the power of the feminine and the cyclical process of creating, maintaining then destroying their personal Universe. They are sublime contemporary heroes intending to heal the spiritual infirmity of the modern soul. The mandalas and sacred geometry provide a visual expression of the connections life weaves through all sentient beings and symbolizes the basic information of all living things.

This series was completed and shown in September of 2016.

"truth beauty chaos", 2012

In this body of work, each painting is like a dream or hieroglyph that tells a story of death, self-discovery and a new direction. Sometimes the unknown and involuntarily profane leads to the sacred. This is a journey we all must experience in some lifetime or another. The images of the human figures represent humanity with playful nostalgia. The environments are new, but unfamiliar pathways that lead to a higher calling. The color landscapes put the viewer at ease, making them feel at home in this sacred world and serve as a reminder that the unknown is powerful and amazing. There 25 paintings in the series. These paintings were finished and shown in 2012.

"Waxy Buildup", 2009

This body of work came about through collaboration with a colleague. We decided to each create work, using encaustic painting methods, that expressed our ideas of women’s work and spiritual toil. We called the show “Waxy Buildup”. We each had four months to complete the work, separately, in our studios. The work was shown in galleries in Texas, Washington, and Rhode Island.  My approach to the theme was from the inside-out. I was going through a messy situation and had been doing research on spirituality, mythology and the various ways different cultures deal with these modalities visually. I chose the image of the woman’s legs in red pumps as a metaphor for the process of “killing” the “wicked witch”; much like the story of The Wizard of Oz. Through my research I discovered a “witch” living in my soul and she was reeking havoc on my life and in turn all of humanity. These paintings became a way for me to exercise her out of my being. These paintings were finished in 2009 and were shown from 2009-13.

"Flash Card", 2003

These are drawings I did in graduate school as a result of a rather unfortunate creative block. I was really struggling with imagery and meaning in my work. I had a stack of beige BFK paper, a few small cans of house paint, a set of flash cards and some other miscellaneous items in my studio. I also had an egg timer. I decided to make a series of drawings using all of those items until the paper ran out. I gave myself five minutes on each drawing and timed it with the egg timer. This process proved to a be a very valuable way for me to move through feelings of ambivalence towards my work and get some new ideas and new direction flowing. Fortunately, I haven’t needed to use this method in a while. These drawings are either 24" x 36" or 36" x 24" and were created in 2003 and shown in 2003.

"graduate school", 2000-2004

I went to graduate school for two reasons: I wanted to eventually to teach higher education fine arts and I needed to discover my voice as an artist. I knew I had something I wanted to say but I didn't understand the depths of it or how to go about saying it. Grad school was really tough for me, thank goodness, and I did discover my artistic voice. The work you are looking at is a sampling of the work I did in those four years. I was fortunate to spend a summer session of grad school as an exchange student in Ireland. You'll see some of the drawings of gravestones I did there. My thesis show was held in small gallery in Dallas, TX in May of 2004. Unfortunately, most of the work I created for that show was destroyed in a fire before it could be photographed professionally. I do have evidence of the work in the form of unprofessional photos taken the night of the show. It was a very powerful lesson in letting go. The work is all untitled but they are in order of creation from first to last. If you have any questions about this work please send me a line.

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