White on White

White on White No. 1, 2000

Here are some studies I worked on as I was formulating my current painting process. I love surfaces that bubble up and grow out of the flatness of a page or canvas. I wanted to create a surface that really augments the highlights and shadows created by light, without pigment, just white on white. Recently I've been doing a lot of these with bright colors, but I have plans to revisit the low contrast palettes that are about nothing other than the textures created on the surfaces.

White on White No. 2, 2000

White on White No. 3, 2000

GenerousAdventure.com ... Check it out!

In addition to all my creative work, I am also a yoga teacher with over 500 hours of teacher training and 9 years’ experience as a yoga practitioner. I’m trying to expand my ability to share my yoga knowledge with others, so I finally put up a website to promote my services.

Click here to see the new site: Generous Adventure

I specialize in teaching private yoga sessions in Grand Junction and Fruita, Colorado, with individuals and groups of family, friends, and co-workers. I’m pleased to make house calls and/or teach groups at your home, place of business, or church. I especially enjoy working to enhance your personal level of health by focusing on your individual strengths and opportunities for growth.

Some Therapeutic Benefits of Yoga:

• Relieves fatigue and boosts energy levels
• Enhances recovery from illness
• Reduces the effects of stress
• Improves focus, concentration, and mood
• Alleviates insomnia
• Improves circulation
• Corrects bad posture
• Improves breathing capacity
• Rehabilitates after injury
• Relieves musculoskeletal pain
• Spiritual, intellectual, and creative energies are released

Word of the Week — IRONY

Handmade necklace by Joana Nossa.

Each week, I close my eyes and choose a random word from the dictionary. I then do an image search for that word online, and choose some of the most interesting, unusual, and unexpected results to share with you.

I don’t know how this is ironic, but it showed up in my search results and it’s weird.

Calligaris “Irony” dining chairs.

Satellite image of wildfires in California.

My Small Drawings

For Victoria, 6x6 inches, 2005. Graphite, colored pencil, and ink on mylar.

A Friend, 9x6 inches, 2005. Graphite and ink on mylar.

These are two of my favorite small drawings I did in 2005. After seeing Yellena James’ work, I’m definitely going to take another look at the smaller format. Stay tuned!

Yellena James’ Drawings

Yellena James, Temple, Acrylic on Wood, 12x12 inches.

I just found Yellena James online, and her work is absolutely stunning! Some of her drawings have been seen on the Anthropologie website, and have also been featured in Vogue Australia and on Apartment Therapy.

Yellena James, You and Me, Pen and ink on paper, 7.5 x 7.5 inches.

Her drawings are mostly pen and ink, sometimes acrylic (all my favorite media too!), and they are typically very small (8.5 x 11 or smaller).

Yellena James, Honeyseeds, Acrylic on Canvas, 12x12 inches.

For a while I had been working very small, but I had gotten away from those tiny works. I don’t know why. I think Yelena James has just inspired me to revisit some of that smaller work and reengage with my old drawings.

I’ll post a couple of my own small drawings in another entry, and then I’m going to get busy working on some new ones!

My New Paintings | Part 2

Sugar Free No. 4, Red Radial
Mixed media on board. 24x24 inches.

I have a few more paintings to share with you... These are a couple more from the “Sugar Free” series. I still have a number of paintings in the works, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to earnestly begin another new batch until the holidays, when I’ll get a chance to spend a week’s vacation working on them. I have a couple other series I’m planning to show you over the next few months, as well: some straightforward and some abstract landscapes. Please let me know what you think.

Sugar Free No. 4, Red Radial, detail.
Mixed media on board. 24x24 inches.

Sugar Free No. 5, Three Flowers.
Mixed media on board. 48x36 inches.

Sugar Free No. 5, Three Flowers, detail.

Mixed media on board. 48x36 inches.

A Note from My Dad

Growing up in a separated family, I was always traveling from one parent’s house to the other. Sometimes, my dad would leave secret notes in my suitcase that I would only find once I’d reached my destination.

I received this note when I left for graduate school at Cranbrook Academy of Art. For some reason, I never removed this note from my suitcase, and it still has its home there today, even though it has been over ten years since I left for grad school, and almost seven years since his death. I find this note again, for the umpteenth time, whenever I travel anywhere with my suitcase. It brings me comfort.

It’s funny, as a young person I was always mortified when my dad called me “Wiggle” in public. Dad was a genius nickname-giver. The nickname was coined when I was a little girl — he would chase me around and tickle me endlessly. I would love to hear him use that nickname one more time!

Word of the Week — DENTAL

Each week, I close my eyes and choose a random word from the dictionary. I then do an image search for that word online, and choose some of the most interesting, unusual, and unexpected results to share with you.

Dental Rock.

Microscopic view of plaque.

Stereoscopic photo of a man in the dental chair.

A goat.

I love the LA Kings!

I had to go to Los Angeles last week for some meetings and work at The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. Luckily, Matt was able to get off work and make the trip with me.

Dustin Brown is one of my favorite players.

Matt introduced me to the NHL in 2004, and the LA Kings immediately became my favorite team... We got the chance to see three home games this week versus San Jose, Anaheim, and Carolina. The Anaheim game was really exciting with lots of physical play. And the Carolina game was a nail-biter, but we were able to pull off a win in OT.

I just ordered NHL Center Ice this morning, so we can see all the games on TV from Colorado. I’m looking forward to our next trip to LA so we can see another game in person. Hockey is definitely the best sport to see live.

Word of the Week — CART

Pink Studebaker golf cart.

A wheel.

Painting by Goya, “Children with a Cart”

A Victorian cart from the 1800s.

Images from a Road Trip

Train in the Utah desert.

Matt and I drove from Colorado to Southern California yesterday. The weather was perfect, and I spent a good chunk of the day with camera pressed against window.

The San Rafael Swell in the Utah desert.

Power lines in Nevada, east of Las Vegas.

Sunset in the Mojave Desert in Southern California.

Word of the Week — SEE

I just got this idea that at least once a week, I’m going to look for random inspiration through basic internet search engines. The only rule is that I will choose a word at random from the dictionary, and then post the four or five most interesting, strange, or beautiful images that show up in my search results.

Ironically, the first word that jumped out of the dictionary today was the word “see.”

My New Paintings | Part 1

Sugar Free No. 1.
Mixed media on board. 24x24 inches.

I hope you enjoy the first installment of my paintings from 2008. I’ve completed about 15 paintings so far this year, in addition to all my design projects. Now that I don’t spend half my days commuting in Los Angeles, I’ve had more time to focus on my painting practice.

I hope you can see the 3d elements in these photos. There is a textural relief that protrudes off the surface of each board.

Sugar Free No. 2
Mixed media on board. 24x24 inches.

Everything is still so raw in my mind; I haven’t yet refined my “artist statement.” I think for now it’s enough to say that I’m profoundly inspired by color in nature. I’m not interested in making some kind of critical judgment about our culture, but I do want to offer another perspective on the beautiful things around us. Hopefully my work can make you smile—maybe it will lighten your heart.

Sugar Free No. 3
Mixed media on board. 36x24 inches.