This summer I overcame a little resistance (understatement) to painting local scenery and have been making plein air forays in the environs of Memphis. Doing this feels good. Standing in a field here, in present time, nature stirring around me, I'm taken back to my childhood in Riverside County, CA where I spent many hours in the vast barley fields surrounding our house on my Grandfather's ranch. Red-winged blackbirds darting to and fro around me here take me back to being there. As a child, the flash of a red-winged blackbird was a magic moment--their color made such a strong and vivid contrast in the landscape. I remember that even though red-winged blackbirds were plentiful, I considered each glimpse of one lucky.
Still do.

the WAR of ART; Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

The war is within oneself. A kick in the pants book. Mr. Pressfield exposes the force of Resistance and how it will assume any form necessary to keep us from fulfilling our highest Soul potential. Written for people in creative fields, anyone can benefit from reading this. The WAR of ART brilliantly describes Resistance as a villainous character whose goal it is to sabbotage us at every turn. It will be harder after reading this to remain blind or ignorant to the forms of Resistance we employ that block our personal evolution. Packs a punch ! Clear. Concise. Wise.

"The more important a call or action is to our soul's evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it." (and the more gratification you will feel when you finally beat Resistance and do it.)

"There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny. This second, we can turn the tables on Resistance."

In mid July I look forward to taking a workshop with landscape painter Elizabeth Tolley in California.
In early October I return to Italy to further my training with Maddine Insalaco and Joe Vinton

In February of 2009 I had the pleasure of visiting the studio of landscape painter Dave Ballew in Santa Fe. I sought him out after seeing his work in a gallery. Breathtaking paintings. Nice guy. I hope to take him up on his kind offer and paint with him out in the field the next time I'm in his area.

Over 100 heart themed works by Memphis artists on display to the public at the Memphis College of Art February 8 -12, hours 9-5 pm.
The auction event will be held on Saturday, February 13, 2010 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Memphis College of Art. Tickets are $50 and include complimentary wine, beer, and appetizers. Proceeds benefit the Memphis Child Advocacy Center.
You can preview my 2010 heart in the Mixed Media section.

My painting "Flying Nest, New Beginnings" will be exhibited in a group show at the Memphis College of Art
January 4, 2010 - January 29, 2010
Reception:
Friday, January 22, 2010; 5 to 7pm

I traveled with watercolors on my painting expedition this year. Ease of packing, portability. In Powell's Books in Portland, I purchased Carl Little's beautiful book,
The Watercolors of John Singer Sargent. Previously I had no idea of the volume of watercolor works Sargent produced in his lifetime, nor that for the last 25 years of his life, watercolor was his preferred medium. The paintings reproduced in this book reflect his travels in Palestine, North Africa, Spain, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, France, Scotland, England, the Canadian Rockies, New England and Florida.
Each night I would leaf through the pages and fill my eyes with the images.
The discipline I set myself this year on my expedition was to give myself a time limit of one hour or less to complete a watercolor sketch. More than that and I tend to overthink, overpaint. Even when a sketch doesn't "turn out," to my satisfaction, the discipline of having practiced interpreting a scene in paint serves a purpose. Sketches are part of a process- a way of being in an outdoor scene and contemplating it with an artist's eye. Our eyes see differently than an apparatus (camera). A camera lens flattens out landscape scenes and does not record colors the way people observe and interpret them. A person has emotional responses, preferences and filters. When it comes to painting, expressing these human responses is crucial. Painting on location in the moment helps record the entire sensory experience of being in the moment- feelings, light, temperature, and sounds become encapsulated both visibly and invisibly into the sketch and memory.

...when not primping the flowers in my cottage garden or mixing pigments in my Memphis studio this summer, i will be refreshing my eyes in Oregon and Ojai CA..

presents works from an array of faith traditions contemplating the idea of the Feminine Divine

February 20-April 3, 2009

Last night we had a great opening night ! A big turn out and people really loved the exhibit. What a great experience I have had curating this show.
Participating artists:
Janna Bernstein, Carol Buchman, Lana Chu, Maritza Davila,
Elizabeth Garat, Alma R. Gomez ,Sharon Grinspan,
Vinodini Jayaraman, Stephanie King, Diane Ludy, Andrea Holmes Lugar,
Sally Markell, Ann M. Moore, Peri Pfenninger,
Sowgand Sheikholeslami, Mary Stubbs, Lisa Tribo, Anne Froning-Wike, Meg Zachry

I'm finishing up pieces for two upcoming events:

The Bird's Nest Invitational is an exhibition taking place at Brandon Michael Fine Art 202 Canyon Road in Santa Fe. It opens February 13, 2009

17th ANNUAL WORKS OF HEART, Valentine Auction and Exhibit,
Charitable Fundraiser for the Memphis Child Advocacy Center
Exhibit on view free to the public Feb 2nd-6th 10am-5pm
Main floor of Memphis College of Art

In December, you can see some of my work at the
DECK THE HALLS ART SHOW
Featuring hand made works from over 20 local artists and
artisans from in and around Memphis

1227 Ridgeway at Park Place Mall
(formerly Little Lambs and Ivy space)
Wednesday December 10th from 6-9pm through
Sunday, December 21st 12-5pm

Inspired by Argentinean singer, Daniel Melingo singing "Sin Luna" I wrote 3 short poems about the moon and am creating art to accompany them. You can see Mr. Melingo sing the song here Sin Luna performed
It's an uncomplicated, beautiful song from the heart that has kindled written and visual ideas in me.
'Muchas gracias Senõr Melingo para la inspiración.'

at Memphis College of Art, Overton Park
Over 100 heart themed works by Memphis artists on display.
Fund raising auction Saturday, February 9, 7-10 pm
All proceeds benefit the Memphis Child Advocacy Center

Solo Exhibit at
Germantown Performing Arts Centre includes sketches and paintings from my travels over the last seven years.The exhibit is on display through February 17, 2008.
GPAC is located at 1801 Exeter Road, Germantown, TN 38138

"Enamorado" has been juried into the 2007 Art Kudos Exhibition International. www.artkudos.com

Bella Toscana is the culmination of two years work. Having long loved Italy, I made the seemingly requisite artist’s pilgrimage to Tuscany to paint during the past two summers. Following the well-worn path, I was taken by surprise in the Apuane Alps in 2005. This alpine region of Tuscany revealed an unexpected landscape- an atypical, mountainous micro-region with wildflowers in abundance. Marble industry was the heart of the subject there. Daily, we drove a road whose construction Michelangelo had overseen centuries before when assigned by the Medicis to open a new quarry. Apart from trucks going to and from this quarry rising steeply above our host’s renovated stone home, there was not a lot of activity. At night, except for summer insects and the soft music of the creek, we lived temporarily in a dignified silence at Ponte Zingola. Darkness lit only by stars has a way of entwining one with the threads of history. I felt humbled in the presence of this particular history. It was impossible not to feel privileged to be where we were, sharing the experiences we did. It was Deborah Whitt who gave me the tip on the painting expedition with Stella Ehrich. Christine Ritchie and I, longtime friends and painting colleagues, signed on for the journey and were grateful for Deborah’s suggestion.

Christine and I returned to the region in 2006 to capture in further paintings, a more typical Tuscan landscape. Absent the prior summer were the characteristically golden hay fields and the starkly upright candlestick cypress trees. Last summer we stayed at La Ripolina, a vast farm estate atop a hill forty-five minutes southeast of Siena. 360 degrees of unobstructed views. We took a workshop there under the tutelage of landscape painters Maddine Insalaco and her husband Joe Vinton. They have an excellent and intense painting program, Etruscan Places, I recommend. When the workshop ended, we moved to a second location outside of Arezzo where we kept up the work pace established at La Ripolina. Our second lodging, La Foresteria, was surrounded by 1200 acres of fruit orchards and provided bicycles. Each day we rose at six am and headed out for a bike ride before breakfast. We’d eat and be on the road (via auto) in search of a location to paint by nine. Our goal was to complete a morning and afternoon painting each day. From La Foresteria we made day trips to many nearby hill towns such as; Civitella, Castiglion Fiorentino, Monte S. Savino and the wider known Cortona, setting of Frances Mayes, Under the Tuscan Sun -a town though a bit overexposed of late, we found well deserving of its must see reputation.

When selecting works to include this exhibit, we aimed to show variety within the region. Reflecting on these two sojourns in Tuscany- distinctly different in physical terms and in other ways, what unites the two experiences for me is the act of painting, and the generosity of the people we met- people met in passing like the older gentleman who brought Christine fresh figs one afternoon to snack on while she worked, and new friends and colleagues with whom we hope to grow deeper relationships. Once again, the Meaningful is born out in relationships- in our relationships with others, to nature, and finally with ourselves.