​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.
 

Enjoy a fun outing - including fine art!
Aug. 22 - Oct. 3 at Art Intersection Gallery, 207 N. Gilbert Rd., #201, Gilbert, AZ

Fine Art galleries are beginning to open up with safety standards in place. 

​Now you can come out and see my art in person!  I'm very excited to have my artwork chosen for this Fall's popular Art Intersection Exhibit in the cultural center of historic downtown Gilbert.

​This ten year tradition at Art Intersection highlights the breadth and diversity of art created by Arizona artists. The range of acceptable artwork encompasses sculpture, glass, photography, painting, ceramics, wood, printmaking, mixed media, artist books, and more. 

All Art Arizona attracts artists, art collectors, and art lovers from all over the state to one of our best known exhibitions of the year. Visit the Art Intersection galleries, bring your friends and family, to enjoy this unique exhibition and range of art by Arizona artists.  

While you're there, get involved by voting for the Viewer’s Choice Award.

The exhibition is free and open to the public during business hours.

Experiencing the death of an elderly loved one who has been there for us our whole lives is a universally shared pain. Though I often wonder if I'm the only one who cries when a large, old tree is cut down.

I live next to a road that is lined with ancient trees. They have been huge since I was a child. It isn't the first tree-lined road in this area. Two others I remember were cut down over the years. This road is the last.

This majestic avenue stands next to fields that were once irrigated regularly. This past year there was a massive surge of industrial buildings going in that don't require watering. Being cut off from regular indirect watering will result in a slow, sure death for these precious giants. 

So this is the back story of a project I'm working on. I've been shooting videos, making draft compositions and a new, for me, painting study of a tree. I'm very excited about this project because I feel very deeply about the subject. I want to show my appreciation to these natural icons in a tangible way. 

​Yes - we live in an ever changing world.  I appreciate the jobs and contribution to the local economy that this new industrial center will bring to my community. But I cannot take a pass on seizing something of lasting value from these majestic and colossi living sentinels.

This topic does make me a little sad. There's also another side of the story that gives me great joy. I cannot stop progress and don't even want to. Yet I CAN express, in a tangible way, the lifetime of inspiration and beauty I've experienced through these trees - through my painting. I'm thoroughly blessed by being able to acknowledge and memorialize their value.

Have you noticed the value of ancient things?  Maybe really old people!  Or traditions that have been meaningful to your life? 

Have you thought of ways you could continue their memory out of the blessing they have been to you? And if you don't mind, I would love to hear what ideas you're mulling over in the comments below.

​I encourage you to act on your ideas, no matter how small or large. You never know what treasures you may be passing along to future generations!