Artist Talk 2024

Introduction to My Art

The most consistent aspect of my work is vibrant color, but I am also interested in accessible everyday imagery that is relatable and fun, because that is my life.  I consider the work expressionism as it expresses a distinctive energy, a kind of animation all its own, which to me gives it a spark that makes it alive.

I love the rich culture of the Hudson Valley, as well as the beautiful landscape, which has always inspired me spiritually although it took me a long time to paint it.  Early on, I was interested in intimate space, not expansive space.  But I have always loved taking walks on the many gorgeous trails of our area with views that nurture my soul.

My favorite painter is Matisse for his color, his amazing versatility, and his joy.  I also like Bonnard, David Hockney, Keith Haring, and Alice Neel.  But ultimately I follow my own inner guide, which makes my voice authentic to me, outside of trends.

Background, Art School

I grew up on LI and in 1973 came to the Hudson Valley to study in the BFA Program at SUNY New Paltz, where I live to this day. At SUNY I worked at a classic art curriculum of drawing, oil painting, watercolor, ceramics, and sculpture, with exposure to many ideas and genres but a strong emphasis on Abstract Expressionism, important at the time.  

Searching for Direction

I developed a good foundation in college and was enrolled for five years.  But I did not complete the program, feeling discouraged and confused about my direction.  I discovered years later that I was ailing from the weight of “chronic art seriousness”.  

To finish my degree I spent one year at SUNY Empire State’s Manhattan Campus visiting museums and galleries, as well as interning at the Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale and taking art classes with one of the WSW Founders Barbara Burge in New Paltz.  Barbara’s zany humor worked like medicine to make “serious art” fun, as I began exploring on my artistic journey.

Work from this period (early ‘80’s) were abstract drawings made with oil pastels and colored pencils on colored paper, and mixed media of natural materials on canvas.   They were lyrical and colorful and I loved making them, but I was looking for something else.

Finding my Voice

In 1985 at the age of 30, I took a workshop at Omega Institute with Stewart Cubley called The Painting Experience, or Painting for Process.  Participants are given paint, brushes, paper taped to their section of the wall, and time to create.  There are no standards to achieve, no instruction, and no commenting on each other’s work.  As participants, we put the brush on the paper and let it be guided by our inner unconscious.  During the flow, an ugly, frightening, or otherwise difficult image might emerge.  In this case, the first impulse would be to change or fix it to make it go away. Here a mentor would suggest that we keep going with it, make it even bigger, and paint with care to see what would happen.   Following this directive, the feeling would be uncomfortable but eventually, the energy would work itself through and the flow would be regained. Not only that but there may be the birth of a feeling of greater inner calm or space. This happened to me.  I found the experience to be cleansing, healing, and helpful for energy movement and artistic direction.  

When I returned to my home studio I found a drawing pad and pencil and drew two eyes.  Then a face, then a body, then another body, and eventually a composition would emerge.   Then I put it on a canvas and painted it in oil.  A series of canvases naturally followed and this is how I found my voice.

Early Narrative work

At first, the mood was lyrical and sweet, and then these narratives grew bolder and laugh-out-loud funny.

This work I called “Playfully Vibrant Expressionist Narratives”.  The wacky mood satirized my suburban childhood in a quirky, chaotic home with the characters of parents, kids, pets, and fast food flying, household appliances, tv’s and rampant commercialism.  I expressed a wild energy.

Family influences

When I got married and had two sons in the early 1990’s, the subject matter was similar and the mood stayed quirky but a bit quieter.  Having my own young family allowed me to tap into my inner child which was strongly playful and some of the sweetness returned.

Exhibits, Residencies and Projects in the ’90s and 2000s

I painted in oil on canvas, and I showed my work in the Hudson Valley, New York City, and New Jersey.

In 2005, I illustrated a children’s book called Ten Pigs Fiddling. It was published by a small local publisher, Amberwood Press, and written by the publisher’s brother. It is cute, quirky, and popular.  

In 2007, I participated in an International Exchange of Women Artists - Hudson Valley, NY, with Verona, Italy.

In 2008 I created a series of eleven New York City theme paintings for a gallery there. Titles include The New York Public Library, Rainbow Room, Sax’s Shoe Salon, and my best-known Chrysler Building.

In 2009, I did a public commission of five paintings measuring 3 feet by 4 feet for Ulster County Area Transit. The paintings depicted bus staff and passengers. At that time, they were hung in the main office building.

In 2011 I went on an artist residency in Green Valley, Arizona, where we exhibited in and toured the area around Phoenix and Scottsdale.  I loved the Southwest culture and desert landscape, with sky and colors so different from the Northeast landscape and sky.  Even so, I continued painting with my intimate space sensibility of imaginary figures in playful and colorful Mexican-style interiors.  

Portrait Commissions

In addition to studio paintings, around this time I began doing portrait commissions for clients of their families, pets, homes, or special objects, which I continue to this day.

Changing Influences

As my kids grew older my narrative focus changed from family relationships to pets and our relationship with them.  I loved painting cats and dogs in all colors and imperfect shapes next to their food, or in our homes or on our laps.

The Mother Series

In 2013 I was 58.  My mother’s best friend passed away, making me think of my mother.  She had died in 1990 at 60 years, as a recovering alcoholic, when I was 34.  We had many unresolved issues between us.  I felt inspired to have a living conversation with her through making paintings.  I believed that even if she was no longer alive in this world, her energy still exists through me and growth can occur.  

I asked myself, “Who was she really?  If she were still alive, would we be friends?”

My mother was glamorous and had great style and an artistic sense.  She had a little business as a collector and dealer of estate china, glassware, and jewelry.  I had quite a few of these pieces tucked away.  Now I began thinking about them, looking at them, displaying them and using or wearing them.  Then I began painting them. 

After making several paintings that featured these objects, a figure appeared.  She was unspecific, seated comfortably in a cozy room, and was thoughtfully surrounded by a few of mom’s porcelain pieces.  Additionally, there was a dog and cat, blooming flowers on the table and a blooming tree out the window.  I call this painting Blooms as I began to understand that my intention was to help heal our relationship through the paintings.  

There was a series that followed, including one where my mother and I were seated together at a table enjoying tea.  

I wouldn’t say that this Mother painting series completed our healing journey, but it was a significant step along the way. 

Music CD Art

Another fun project has been to create art for several local bands for their CD covers and on the CD as well.

I begin painting the Landscape

All this time, my oil paintings were focused on the character of figures in an intimate flat space filled with familiar everyday objects that I enjoyed and was comfortable with.

In 2015, I completed an artist residency in Quebec, Canada, in the countryside outside Montreal.  The area had farms and wineries and, in a way, was similar to our Hudson Valley.  One of the activities was painting the regional landscape in acrylics.  At first, I was unsure that my interest in expressing characters in rooms could translate into painting a broad expanse of landscape.  But I tried it and found that it worked just fine.

When I returned home to Ulster County, I said to myself, “If I can paint their beautiful landscape, I can paint my own beautiful landscape”.  Which I did, and I haven’t stopped.  Our area is so rich I have an endless supply of scenes to enjoy painting.  

I also continued to use acrylics, which I do even now.  I find that I can get the same intensity of color in acrylics that I did in oil, and I like the immediacy of working with it.

Art and Poetry

An art opportunity that I have responded to quite a few times over the years are the Artists Respond to Poetry events offered by local arts organizations.  I find it interesting and challenging to choose a poem to interpret through color, mood and imagery.  I am always interested to learn how the poet relates to it.

Love Through Art

Since 2015, when I started painting landscapes, I continued to paint figures and still life, but the mood has shifted from quirky narratives toward harmony and joy.  The energy is still Playfully Vibrant, but the intent is Love Through Art.  It is the story of my self discovery, my personal history, of how love unfolds in my life and the exploration and expression of that process.  

Painting Process 2020’s

When I paint, I am not interested in reality.  I like accessibility, and I use reference photographs as a basis, but freely interpret and invent.  

The defined areas and black outlines of my previous work are softened and sometimes dissolve altogether.  My playful energy is used now for painterly concerns.  

I enjoy texture with paint, subtle areas and blobs, lines that come and go, and various types of mark making.

Throughout my entire painting life the color has stayed pretty consistent.  I basically use the same colors for every painting, full intensity with a little blending. This is an intuitive process, not an analytical one.  I learned the color wheel in college but never think of it while painting.  

The painting is a conversation.  I get inspired by a theme from my life, surroundings, imagination, from a photo I took or found on the internet, or from a Matisse or another master painting, or from an exhibit prompt.

Then I draw the composition on the canvas, creating a flow so that they eye moves all around the space.  If the composition has a lot of elements, I will work it out first in a sketchbook, then recreate it on a canvas.

I usually can’t wait to begin choosing the colors. 

I am pretty much a straight painter.  I appreciate all kinds of painting such as mixed media and encaustic, but for myself, I am not really interested in working with materials, just getting the paint on the canvas in an immediate way. 

Painting is a meditation for me.  I like to paint in quiet.  I know some artists prefer listening to music, and some must listen to it as if it were their muse.  I have tried it, but it distracts me.  I like listening to my inner voice’s direction.  

The conversation goes like this: I am inspired to apply color, and I might put that in several different areas before I decide that “that is enough of that for now.”  Then I respond to that color with a different color that looks good with it, also adding it to various areas, inviting the eye to move around the canvas in an energetic dance.  

While I use the color I also make marks of line, blobs, shmoosh, flat, curves, strokes, while keeping the integrity of accessible imagery.  

It can be poetic.

Something else about my intuitive use of vibrant color, is the mood it creates.  The high intensity vibration is a natural uplift.  I never consciously choose this, it chooses me.  

When I am in my studio, I want to feel good.  I want to affirm and be affirming.  I want to share a joy of life.  I want to spread it because it feels good.

As much as I do this intuitively, I do think feeling good is important.  It is healthy!  But my art is not a sentimental feel-good.  It contains grit and imperfection, as does life, but is also beautiful.

Being able to make art is a gift, a privilege, and a blessing. I hope that my art serves a good purpose, enriching lives and connecting people. 

I stay active

In addition to many exhibits and projects, I participate in studio tours and holiday shows, and for that, in addition to paintings I have prints, note cards, and canvas bags.

You

I would love to hear your response to my work.  I appreciate you.

What is it about my art that attracts you?  

Thanks for your interest and enthusiasm!