I focused on pen and ink during my time in New Mexico with Georgia O'Keeffe
Working as Georgia O'Keeffe's weekend companion allowed me to return to the studio a full five full days each week After a few paintings, I decided to go back to basics -- pen and ink -- for one year. That year turned into two. Here are drawings from my time in New Mexico in 1976.
Working as Georgia O'Keeffe's weekend companion allowed me to return to the studio a full five full days each week After a few paintings, I decided to go back to basics -- pen and ink -- for one year. That year turned into two. Here are drawings from my time in New Mexico in 1976.
I moved back to San Jose, continued pen-and-ink drawing, then started painting again
I left my job with Georgia O'Keeffe, my life in northern New Mexico, and the landscape there when I moved back to California in 1977. My art continued to reflect my environment in this new place, which seemed foreign to me. I continued with pen and ink drawing for another year, then moved to acrylic painting as I prepared to apply to graduate school.
My MFA show in 1983 included three trompe l'oeil printings set among real objects
French for "trick the eye," trompe l'oeil is the art of illusion. Captions tell which objects are painted in this installation if you click on photos below. The frame with a mat and blank paper; the "woven" seat of the chair, and the letter in the drawer, including its shadow, are made of acrylic paint. One student was angry because he thought an MFA degree was being bestowed on someone for just putting some old household objects together. Another person tried to pick up the letter in the drawer, and when he could not, he said "oh, it's glued down." That's how convincing my trompe l'oeil effect is. Click on any image below to get a better look and read the captions for details.
French for "trick the eye," trompe l'oeil is the art of illusion. Captions tell which objects are painted in this installation if you click on photos below. The frame with a mat and blank paper; the "woven" seat of the chair, and the letter in the drawer, including its shadow, are made of acrylic paint. One student was angry because he thought an MFA degree was being bestowed on someone for just putting some old household objects together. Another person tried to pick up the letter in the drawer, and when he could not, he said "oh, it's glued down." That's how convincing my trompe l'oeil effect is. Click on any image below to get a better look and read the captions for details.
More "trick-the-eye" paintings
The toast paintings were originally on view in an installation at Falkirk Arts Center in California. The installation included a shelf with the embroidered napkins and vintage knife you see here. The acrylic paintings on bread-shaped boards were later purchased from an exhibition at Montalvo Arts Center by the grand dame of a local family that supports the arts. I have included an enlarged view of one painting.
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A trick-the-eye painting hangs above a bookcase with objects that reference alchemy and the four ancient elements of air, earth, fire, and water. A mandala on the wall has a trick-the-eye frame (it is not real) and four painted "objects" (feather, root, burnt match, and shell) that look three-dimensional. Even the drawn circle is paint. However, I used colored pencil in the triangles and gold leaf on the center circle.
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My response to the ancient cliff dwellings at Bandalier National Monument
I began this series decades ago in New Mexico's ancient cliff dwellings near Los Alamos. Georgia O'Keeffe denied critics' assertions that her work referenced anything sexual. In contrast, I was very aware of the womb-like enfoldment of mother earth while I was creating these drawings while within the spaces carved into cliffs by the canyon's early inhabitants.
"Wonder and Whimsy," 2020
In this series, I start with random rubbings and unceremonious smears. The spontaneous, casual elements offer a creative challenge. Using these chance beginnings, I layer colors (pastel, colored pencil, etc.) to create tones and evoke moods. Abstracts predominate, some with representational touches.