30 x 30″, Oil/Canvas

I love the deep purple/magenta/green color scheme in this one. The cloud formations in the sky were inspired by a sunset I experienced recently.

I have 2 more paintings not-yet-photographed, and another (big) one in progress. Right now I’m also working on a couple of tree paintings as a quick detour from the Cosmic Dance series. So, more soon!

Eclipse IV, Acrylic/Canvas, 8 x 10″

Eclipse V, Acrylic/Canvas, 8 x 10″

They’re on display at Distinction Gallery until Feb. 4th, and you can bid on them here: Auction. At the moment, one of the paintings only has one bid and the other only two bids, so your chances of getting one of these for very cheap is really good right now! Proceeds will go to ArtHatch’s teen art program.

Here’s a sneak peek at a work in progress. It’s so big I am working on the floor instead of using my easel. It’s two canvases, each 24 x 36″, for a total size of 2 feet x 6 feet.

I’m only filling in large blocks of color right now, my first step in the painting process. It will look very different by the time it’s done!

Here’s another painting for you!

Pivotal Moment, 30 x 30″, Oil/Canvas

As you can see, I’m riding a wave of tree and eclipse-inspired creativity.

This painting shows another Tree of Life, but I think of this one as a younger tree, relatively speaking. I see this tree as having a personality, in a tree-like way of course. It is a living witness to the fleeting but very special moment of the total eclipse, and in this moment, the tree being “plugged in” to the rest of the universe is particularly evident.

The whole scene vibrates with the excitement of the moment, which I tried to show through the color palette, which is both vibrant and earthy.

I’m digging these colors and I’m already planning more paintings with the same palette.

Here is the building:

The place is incredible. There is a spacious art gallery downstairs, and 14 artists’ studios upstairs. Every wall is covered in beautiful, thought-provoking, mouth-watering, skillfully done artwork. Like, just, unbelievable. I feel honored to be a part of the creative energy in this space. I was so tickled to see the work of several artists I recognized from my social circles online, hanging in the gallery!

I won’t be set up there until next week. I’ve painted the walls of my studio a nice butter cream color and I’m going to be hanging some of my work there tonight.

FYI if you live in the San Diego area, there is an event happening from 8 pm tonight (Friday) until 10 pm tomorrow (Saturday) called Art-A-Thon. 25 local artists will be working for 24 hours straight. All artwork created will be auctioned with all bids starting at $25 per piece, so some people are going to get insane deals on original art! The proceeds will go towards ArtHatch’s teen program, which provides studio space, art supplies, and mentorship to teen artists. Pretty cool. I have already signed up to mentor a teen.

So please stop by if you can! I won’t be doing the 24-hour thing, but I will be around for part of tonight and tomorrow afternoon and evening. Details at ArtHatch.org.

Now for my first new painting of 2012. It’s about time!

Mysterious Night, 30 x 40″, Oil on Canvas:

This painting shows the Tree of Life under a moonlit, starry sky. An almost-full moon gleams between the tree’s branches, which are limned in moonlight.

The huge gnarly tree trunk divides into many roots.

And the stars are giant, softly glowing, otherworldly orbs in a deep blue-gray sky.

Here’s what this painting might look like in a beautifully minimalist, black and white high-ceilinged bedroom.

2011 was eventful for me (maybe a little too eventful even)–I gestated and birthed my second child, had a hugely successful art show and sale, and most recently packed up my entire life and moved to the opposite side of the continent with my husband, toddler, newborn and dog.

January 1st has arrived: the date I decided on to get back to work after my (self-imposed, obviously, since I’m self-employed) maternity leave, and I am uber-excited about my plans for the year. For the next few months I will be developing my “Cosmic Dance” series further. New paintings will be posted soon!

While making lists and sketching out plans for my own work, I was reminded how difficult it was (and still is) for me to focus on one thing at a time and see it through. I get emails every day from beginning artists asking for all kinds of advice, so many that I can’t respond to them all. By far the most common request is for feedback on their artwork, and when I go to look at their artwork, I always find the same thing. It’s the same thing you would have found if you looked at my artwork 10 years ago. A collection of images that could have been made by 10 different artists. Regardless of how good or interesting the artwork is, there is a complete lack of cohesion from one piece to the next. Pencil drawings of figures next to abstract oil paintings next to digital work. I always think, “Who is this artist, really? What does this person do?”

The single most important thing for any artist to do, and in my experience one of the most difficult, is to create a consistent body of work. It is how a visual artist finds his or her voice. Here is a short video sharing some thoughts on how to simplify that process:

Two weeks ago my family and I moved 2800 miles, from Baltimore, MD to the San Diego, CA area. We decided to live somewhere where we could enjoy the outdoors year-round without thinking about jackets or ice scrapers, and where eating avocados and oranges and being a locavore mean the same thing.

We are in the mountains. The sky is ginormous here.

It is commonplace to see eagles soaring, little packs of roadrunners running (roadrunners = adorable, btw) and cotton tail bunnies. The palette of my new landscape includes sage green, lavender and gold. A quick drive to the library feels like an out-of-body experience here. This is truly an inspiring change of scenery for me and my art.

I am gearing up for a new year of painting in a new place!

Her Internet name, to go nicely with her brother’s Internet name (Blazington,) is PhireGirl. She was born just before sunrise on August 1st, and she and I are both in perfect health! PhireGirl was born “in the caul” which is very rare and is said to be an omen of good luck for the child.

My art is in my dreams and my future plans, always…but for the moment painting is on the back-burner while I focus on more pressing matters…like taking hundreds of pictures of baby smiles!

It’s 20″ x 60″ (each panel is 20″ x 20″) Oil on Canvas.

I wanted to paint the magical feeling I have in my life right now, on the cusp of a pivotal moment. I chose a palette of lovely cool blues, greens and violets, to represent fresh night air, green living things, and the glittering diamond effect of a star-strewn sky.

It’s called Sapphire Eclipse.

Here are close-ups of the 3 separate panels.

Some details that I especially love. The eclipse itself:

This little cluster of trees, dreamily backlit:

And the 4 birds in flight. To me, they symbolize my family, soon to be 4 of us–Our 4 spirits flying together through life. (Corny, I know, but hey it’s my painting.)

Here’s what this painting looks like in a room:

I probably won’t update again until sometime after Baby’s arrival, then I’ll be on maternity leave for a few months and will return to my work in a gradual way. So if you don’t hear from me, I’m still here, just preoccupied! And as always you may email me with any questions or comments, and I will reply as I’m able.

Wish me luck as I embark on the next phase of the adventure that is motherhood!

The Open Studio started off slow as people trickled in, then a throng of people arrived all at once. There were quite a few small children in attendance and the atmosphere became boisterous! The whole thing was so much fun. Here are a few photos I took (last-minute, with my cell phone, sorry…) before everyone arrived.

Bedroom–I MUST make a new painting to hang in place of this one, which sold!

My husband’s office had all the seascapes.

Blazington followed me around while I was photographing and wanted to pose for this one:

Blazington’s room with some of the smaller pieces.

Even the bathroom had art on every wall:

This painting was raffled off to a winner at the end of the event. People had a lot of fun trying to buy the perfect number of raffle tickets to increase their odds, and we did a random drawing to determine the winner. She was so excited!

I prepared a spread of snacks and drinks for everyone:

Including sangria!

And all your typical art opening staples (grapes, cheese, crackers, veggies & dip, cookies.)

The studio was jam-packed with artwork! (Sorry for the poor lighting in these photos.)

I spent the following 4 days packing sold artwork as fast as I could. Thursday was shipping day, when 22 paintings were shipped off far and wide to their new owners. (Including one to a nice fellow in Sweden!) The remaining 15 paintings were claimed by local people, and most have picked theirs up now.

My handsome dog Blake wanted to pose in this one:

I was surprised at how emotional I got saying goodbye to some of that artwork–it was bittersweet taking one last look at each one before I closed it into its shipping box. I created these paintings, and have lived with them and loved them well. Now that so many are gone, my home and studio feel so bare! But that was my intent after all–out with the old, in with the new! And it makes me happy to think of all that art now being enjoyed by so many different people in different places.

There will be plenty more paintings, lovely, exciting, inspired ones, in the future. But I’ve been telling everyone that it may take me awhile. July 1st I’m officially going on “maternity leave” to await my new baby’s arrival, and I don’t plan to paint much for those first few months. I’ll get back into the swing of things work-wise once I figure out how on earth to be a mother to not one but TWO little ones. (Wish me luck!)

I decided to try a new configuration for this triptych, with a larger center panel flanked by two smaller panels. Oils on 3 separate canvases. The panels are 10″ x 8″, 16″ x 12″, and 10″ x 8″, for a total size of 16″ x 28″.

Lotus Pond VIII

I love how vibrant this one is–in person it looks like it is lit from within!

Here are close-ups of the 3 panels:

This is officially the last painting to be added to my Nesting Sale, which ends on June 18th (only 9 more days!)