Mixed Media

New 20"x 16" mixed media painting. I took packing material and left over bits of paper plus Venetian plaster, walnut ink, gesso, graphite and cold wax on board. xoxo

New Drawings

Three new drawing/paintings, all available for a song, leave a comment or email me if you are interested. xoxo

CHANGE OF DATES for Second Workshop

  I am having a second workshop, I am very excited to be teaching how to work with Venetian plaster and collage elements, finding your own unique voice using this wonderful material. Saturday August 6Th and Sunday August 7Th, 10-4  with an hour for lunch. I will be having the workshop in Saint Francis plaza near the famous San Francisco De Asis church in the back of the wonderful shop, Velvet and Horns in Ranchos de Taos NM (4 miles from Taos, NM). There is room for  6 people, first come first serve, the last class filled up fast. I will provide cradle boards and the plaster, some paint and select bits of collage material. The price will be 95 a day, plus a 20 fee for supplies. Message me on FB or email me (address on sidebar) for more details if you need them and about payment. I hope to see you there. XOXO

WORKSHOP!!

LAST CALL FOR MY WORKSHOP! My first ever workshop will be on June 11Th and 12TH! I am very excited to be teaching how to work with Venetian plaster and collage elements, finding your own unique voice using this wonderful material. 10-5 both days with an hour for lunch. I will be having the workshop in Saint Francis plaza near the famous San Francisco De Asis church in the back of the wonderful shop, Velvet and Horns in Ranchos de Taos NM (4 miles from Taos, NM). There is room for 0 more, so first come first serve. I will provide cradle boards and the plaster, some paint and select bits of collage material. The price will be 180 for both days,  total due by June 1ST. This price is for the first workshop only. Message me on FB or email me (address on sidebar) for more details if you need them and about payment. I hope to see you there. XOXO * The workshop is now FULL.

My Pages in the Book Storytelling with Collage

I took a photo of my pages of the piece I did for Roxanne Evans Stout's book Storytelling with Collage.
I was very excited to get two pages. The other guest artists in the book are wonderful as are Roxanne's photos and her easy to understand instruction. You can buy this book on Amazon. XOXO

New Project Finished!

I have been working on this old type drawer for a few months and finished last week. It was great fun to do.
Did my best with the photos, took details, but if you click on images you will get a better view.
The top bit is packing paper and coffee, the middle section has rust drawings, sewed and burned teabags, rusty bits and an old root and wasp nest.
the bottom bits have Venetian plaster, coffee, and pen and graphite. Measures 32"x 17 1/4".
I loved doing this so much I am going to do another at some point.
I always love to hear from you.
Happy Easter.
XOXO

My collage in Storytelling with Collage

Roxanne Evans Stout wrote a book about collage and she asked me to create a piece for it, so many moons ago I did and I can finally share it! The book comes out March 10Th, go here to order:
Storytelling with Collage
This painting was done with vintage ledger paper, pen, graphite, various papers, thread, rust, oil and acrylic
paint, tea bags on cradle board, finished with cold wax. I am in the section about sewing. Thank you for including me Roxanne!
Titled: Future Archaeology
Congratulations  to Roxanne and all the artists included.
I always love to here what you think.
XOXO

Finally in the new year I finished my 40"x 40", three months in the making and 182 tea bags sewn and plastered with Venetian plaster, also graphite, oil paint and coffee. Finished with cold wax. Unfortunately I had a hard time photographing it as I had to take it outside and the snow on the ground caused a glare, the color between the teabags is much more coffee colored than this light grey it appears to be in the close ups.
Oh well as always my paintings are so much better and yummier in person. This painting is titled Grid # 6, (Colin's Habit) after my friend that provided me with all the teabags! I always love to hear your thoughts also as you know if you double click on the images they get larger. XOXO

Gratitude and Thoughts on being an Artist

With a new year come thoughts about life and where it is leading you/me. I have been on a path of gratitude for a long while, but I realized that I belly ache a lot about the tribulations of being an artist, maybe not a lot, but enough that I sometimes bore myself. Yes, it is sometimes hard and when there are no sales and the bank account is tiny it is easy to get frustrated. BUT the bottom line is I am so grateful for my life and the fact that I am an artist that I have to pinch myself daily to make sure I am not dreaming.
Making art is not about sales, it is not about galleries, or even people appreciating what I do, making art is about the awesome joy I feel everyday that I get to make art, that I am passionate about making art and also that I am passionate about art in general, other people's art, painting, books, movies, all the arts move me, sometimes to tears. I am one of the luckiest people in the world and I know that. Who cares if I can't travel and have no money, who cares if I can't afford a smart phone?! I am living a life of freedom and joy, a life most people would kill for if they even knew it existed. I just wanted to express my gratitude and wonder and love for the awesome life I get to live. I know many of you who make art have these same feelings and not just artists, anyone who has a passion for what they do, it does not matter what form it takes.
We are so lucky! So this year I will not belly ache, I will send kisses to the Gods daily that they gave me this passion. This life. Happy New Year!