My present painting style started about 10 years ago during a particularly cold winter in the Arizona Mountains with two feet of snow on the ground and a blizzard raging outside. Standing in my studio with the pellet stove blazing away, I was at wits end trying to think of what to paint. In desperation, I just started painting, first with watercolors and then with brighter acrylics. I put away blue and sienna and started working with bright shapes and lines, oranges, reds, yellow…all intense colors. I was painting [
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My present painting style started about 10 years ago during a particularly cold winter in the Arizona Mountains with two feet of snow on the ground and a blizzard raging outside. Standing in my studio with the pellet stove blazing away, I was at wits end trying to think of what to paint. In desperation, I just started painting, first with watercolors and then with brighter acrylics. I put away blue and sienna and started working with bright shapes and lines, oranges, reds, yellow…all intense colors. I was painting landscapes with bold colors and shapes, slightly offbeat and very different. During that time, I finished 9 paintings and my son titled them "Lucid Landscapes". He went on further and named them, "Pincushion Perspective" or "Push-pin Pass". And others. Crazy names for crazy pictures. But it had started something that I continue to this day.
I paint from memories of places visited, places lived and moments that meant something to me. I grew up in Oregon and also lived in Breckenridge Colorado for many years. As a family we were always going to the beach or to some lake or river to play. I love the water…so I continually paint the motion and energy of water. I love the country, so many of my Lucid Landscapes remind me to things in my past. I spent 6 years as a Stewardess for Pan American Airways, and traveled to many tropical ports, so much of my work has a tropical feel to it. My floral paintings always end up looking very tropical.
I paint in a series and usually have a rough idea of subject . I prefer painting with acrylics but occasionally go back to oils. I chose a color pallete and begin with lines and shapes. My work is nearly all-organic in nature. After the first two or three layers have been applied, I am ready to start working out all the compositional problems. I find that problem solving is the most exciting part of every painting. Is it too warm or cool? Are there any eye traps? Do the values work? Where does the viewer's eye go? Is there a bit of mystery there? Does it Wow me? All of a sudden, the piece is finished. What an adventure. I continue to work on the same series, Lucid Landscapes, Water, Abstracts about line and My Backyard, a great subject that can cover every growing thing on the planet. Enjoy! For more biographical information, visit my website.
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