​Mostly, the Sonoran desert is a beautiful place of unique vistas, plants, animals and minerals. On a cool winter day (when the snakes are hibernating), it's an amazing place to discover natural treasures.  I love to paint what I find out there!

Back to the trash.  It occurred to me that I could take a lesson from the Arizona burrowing owls. They've made an amazing adaptation to man-made materials. If you know where to look for them, they can be found hiding in drainage ditches and piles of pallets all over town, where people live and work. I figured if they could pivot like that, I could also change my perspective and find a way to make art out of the junk I find in the desert.

​So I've included burrowing owls in my recent art pieces, in honor of their creative problem solving.  And . . . they're just plain adorable!  I hope you enjoy them!

My newest painting "LIFE: the ultimate construct" is a visual expression of unseen mysteries that fascinate me.

Mystic messages holding the key to create life. A plant or an animal? A flower or a human? Blue eyes, hazel, green or brown? 

These amazing messages are more commonly known as DNA.  They come to us from the past, make their own tweaks and variations in the present to ultimately script the future. That's the bottom line of how life functions. And I really nerd out on it!

Scientists have recently discovered an important system in the mysterious cloudy mixture of fluff between the well-known double helixes of DNA.  In my painting, this replication platform is portrayed with what some scientists have called a DNA hand.

The flowers represent another peculiar phenomena in DNA. There are gene sequences that are the same in some plants as in humans.  Isn't life stunning!

As I paint, my thoughts explore and imagine the beauty of life in things I can and cannot see.

It may be the last glimpse of structural beauty in a cactus skeleton, hidden most of its life by the outside tissue of a plant long since decayed.  I personally think the skeletons are way more beautiful that their live cacti counterparts.

Or brilliant desert flowers casting their seeds of the future to the wind before they quickly fade.

And of course roses, that have captured the imagination of genetic engineers for centuries, intermingling unseen codes and creating new species for a legacy of pleasure.  

Ultimately, my thoughts always return to the beauty of human life.  The unique individuality of each and every person on this planet. The vast diversity of community and culture.

​The hope and the possibilities.

​My newest painting was inspired by losing my Mom to cancer, one of the darkest seasons of my life. 

As I came out of a very deep grief, I realized I was a different person. I had found treasures in the journey. Clarity. Compassion. Determination. Hope.

This painting is one in a series that expresses the darkness that I felt and yet the sweet water that can only be found in the deepest wells.  I was very honored to have it chosen for a recent exhibit at Art HQ Gallery of art by the Cancer Support Community.  

It's really important to me that my art can bring hope and encouragement.  From the earliest sales as a professional artist, I was told stories by collectors of how my art lifted and inspired them. Wow - what a joy that is for me!

"Deep Wells in Dark Places" has just been delivered to a new gallery for another juried exhibit. I'm pretty excited about this one because it's a popular annual event in a prestigious gallery. 

Aug. 14 - Sept. 25
Open Wed-Sat, 10am-6pm
207 North Gilbert Rd, Ste 201, Gilbert, AZ
Free Admission

Yellow is the sign of Spring in the desert.

Everywhere you look - drifts of yellow Palo Verde blossoms litter the ground. Joined by dazzling yellow Arizona poppies in yards, empty lots and mountain trails.

Pantone, the recognized international color expert, recently announced their top colors for 2021 - Ultimate Gray and Illuminating Yellow.

Their annual color choices are historically the trendsetters in fashion, product design and especially interior design.

This is great news - Yellow is one of my favorite colors to paint!  

As most interior designers will tell you, there's nothing more inspiring in a neutral interior than a splash of color. Yellow is the perfect pop! Especially against a gray background.

In the words of Pantone - "A marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting."

May this be a sign of new life and new beginnings worldwide in 2021.

I hope you’re seeing some exciting new developments in your world!  I am.

I finished my first series of Arizona Poppies. These brilliant blooms are seen in the Spring all over the deserts of Arizona, in yards as well as in the wild. I think the best place to see them are in the outlying Valley parks and hiking trails. I enjoy them in the regional park near our home. 

​I’ve also been chosen to show in TWO Herberger Theater Art Exhibits. Both are online right now, but they’re planning to have exhibits in person as soon as possible. Looking at paintings in person is such a different experience. Fine art just doesn't look as good on a computer as it does standing in front of it. I'll let you know as soon as I hear the dates for the live exhibits.

Thank you for stopping by and letting me share my excitement!

I'm so honored and excited to be a featured live artist at the 11th Annual Festival of the Arts at the Herberger in downtown Phoenix!

​

This painting has a wonderful story of hope that I'd like to share with you.

​There are children, throughout the world, that are born into dark and chaotic times.  It wasn’t something they asked for or even deserved.  But even though their parent is immersed in terrorism, violence or horrible crimes, many dream of a better life and hope for good things they’ve yet had the chance to experience.
 
Such is the story of a woman I met in Germany.  She was born into a horrible situation. Her father was a Nazi scientist, involved in unspeakable evil. Her early childhood in communist Eastern Berlin was filled with great darkness and shame that she didn’t understand. 
 
She told me the story of her childhood memories of passing by a gate in the wall with the view of Groẞer Park. In the distance she could see a tall tower with what appeared to be a gleaming angel on top.  It was a magical sight to her. As an adult she learned she was seeing Napoleon’s Victory Column at the end of the beautifully tree-lined Linden Straẞe in West Berlin.
 
That glittering point of light became a childhood beacon of hope to her. She just knew that there had to be good in the world, if only she could get out and find it. She would remember that golden flicker in her most dreary moments.
 
After her Mom miraculously escaped with the children, they moved to a free nation.  She grew up taking every advantage she could to find good for her life.  She met and fell in love with a wonderful and good man. They raised a family together and are still happily married. I know her as a very loving and thoughtful person, never dreaming of the ugliness she had endured as a child.
 
Every time I hear about evil acts that are committed throughout the world, I think of those families who didn’t choose the way of evil but are shamefully stained by association.  I pray for their victims. And I include their loved ones; that they will find a beacon of hope and pursue it; that they will break through the darkness around them and find good.
 
This portrait of a sweet young child caught in a dark situation was very difficult to paint.  I struggled to capture both the innocence of a child as well as the heaviness that was so evident in the photograph of her that I used as reference.