Continuing with the shadow theme, here is a new piece I've been working on called "In Shadow." Immediately recognizable as plants and yet...upon closer examination...they're very unrealistic plants, stems don't seem to connect, leaves emerge from nowhere, and even what's light and dark seems to be randomly assigned. This is the crux of the identity/perception issue my artwork explores. Identity is how I view myself. Perception is how you view me. I'm interested in using my artwork to spark a conversation about that conflict. In a world where we quickly judge others based on appearances, your first narrative about someone... Read more →

Do you recall when I blogged about my visit to the light show at Descanso Gardens in California back in January 2023? I've never stopped thinking about the rainbow shadows that the misty night created. I've been working on some pieces that attempt to capture some of the feelings of those rainbow shadows. (I have photos if I want to share the reality of it!) This piece is called "Night-Time Shadows": It's a 16x20 Monotype Collage. You can see another piece from this series being worked on in this short video from instagram: I am going to be hosting an... Read more →

You may recall that I've been working on a series of pieces (over several years now) that use gardening and plant metaphors as a way to try and capture my experience of motherhood. This is my latest piece in that series. It's called "To Pinch or To Prune." Pinching is a type of pruning that involves removing the top of a plant's main stem to encourage branching and fuller growth. Pruning is a more general term that involves cutting off plant parts with tools like scissors or pruners. In parenthood, there are so many different ideas about how best to... Read more →

I've been trying to think about how to describe this piece I made. It's mixed media collage, but it's also a painting. I collaged by adding paper, but I also cut away layers of paper. It's acrylic but also watercolor. It's carefully put together but also wildly free. I named it "Tapestry of Flight" and it's about leaves and birds and that cacophony that swirling winds bring. It was a slow and meditative process to put it together. Days and days and weeks of cutting and adding and painting and cutting. You can see that complexity in these detail photos:... Read more →

Late last year, I worked on a series of six pieces all about my adventures by the Charles River with my young son. I call them "The River Walk Series." They're all 16x20 monotype collages. I'm delighted to share that three have sold thus far. It's always such a delight for me when someone loves my work enough to take it home. Rebekah Joy Plett said it best: "When you buy from an independent artist you are buying more than just a painting or a novel or a song. You are buying hundreds of hours of experimentation and thousands of... Read more →

Continuing my list of favorite art supplies, my choice for acrylic paints is Golden Artist Colors acrylic paints. There are five types of acrylic paint that Golden offers. As a side note, I am a certified Golden Artist Educator. Golden is an employee-owned company with high quality standards and excellent customer service. They've always been both kind and generous to me. I'm very happy to recommend their products because both the products and the company are excellent. So, let's get into it: SoFlat: SoFlat is one of the newer Golden paint products and it's fantastic for those of us who... Read more →

Please join me every other month in 2024 for a new live online class! “Not only can color, which is under fixed laws, be taught like music, but it is easier to learn than drawing, whose elaborate principles cannot be taught.” -- Eugene Delacroix This course is designed for painters at all levels. The lessons lay a solid foundation for beginners while offering an expansive perspective to mid-level and advanced artists. I put "practical" in the title because the course is packed with immediately usable tips, exercises, and ideas for you to integrate into your own work. It's labeled "for... Read more →

As you know, we're in the midst of a 4-part series on some of my favorite art supplies, divided by discipline: Art Supplies for Painters Art Supplies for Printmakers Art Supplies for Art Journalers Art Supplies for Collage Artists Today we've made it to #3: art journaling supplies! I've put together a video with all the details about why I like and use these particular supplies: And here's the list of goodies from the video: Listo China Markers Neocolor I Crayons Neocolor Sharpener Posca Pens SoFlat Acrylic Paint Ranger Heat It Craft Tool Grey Matters Palette Paper Scotch Blue Painter's... Read more →

Hello! I've put together a 4-part series on some of my favorite art supplies, divided by discipline: Art Supplies for Painters Art Supplies for Printmakers Art Supplies for Art Journalers Art Supplies for Collage Artists Obviously, there's some overlap in there, but I hope you'll find it useful. Today I'm sharing items from the first list -- my favorite art supplies to use when I'm painting! Golden Acrylic Paints will always be my #1 pick for acrylic paint. They're incredibly versatile with lots of different choices in viscosity. For paintings, I primarily use: Golden Fluid Acrylics Golden Heavy Body Acrylics... Read more →

One of the skills I've developed over the years is figuring out how to fix my mistakes...because I make a lot of mistakes. In fact, as you've probably heard me say many many time, there are no mistakes, simply creative opportunities. In this video, I show you how I create a creative opportunity for myself! Members can watch the real time version of this video in the online classroom. And here is the finished piece from the video: You can grab this piece in my online shop. The holidays are coming and original one-of-a-kind art makes a great gift! Thanks... Read more →