A Celebration of Pink
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What to paint after the meaningful yet difficult experience of painting my dog BJ, just after he died? I just couldn’t get into resuming the painting that I was working on (of grapes) when the accident happened. Three weeks ago I was out at my mom and dad’s house on a Saturday. I was in their garden taking photos of roses and happened to notice the lovely afternoon light coming through this rhododendron from behind. Later looking at all the images on the computer, this one jumped out. It almost looked like a painting as it was. I just loved all the abstract shapes in the background and all the pink!
I have three brothers and am used to being around a lot of male energy – which is pretty much everywhere in our world. At the same time, I am unequivocally a pink-girl on the inside. We call our guest room the “pink room” and I need regular “pink time” in it. It seems that painting all these pink colors was just what I needed. Sometimes I feel bashful about how much I love pink and other times I claim my pinkness with great pride. It is with that spirit that this painting is named – a celebration of pink.
June 2010 – 22″x30″ – Watercolor on paper
Apple Blossom Spring
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Our dear friends Dean and Nancy lived for many years in a sweet house with an even sweeter garden in Fairfax. I took this photo of their Gravenstein apple tree growing in their side garden. I just loved the configuration of the branches and the delicacy of the apple blossoms in full bloom. Of course, I’m also a sucker for back lighting! It seems most of the paintings I’m drawn to create contain some new artistic challenge. In this one it was white blossoms. I actually painted them first, as I had a hard time trusting that I could paint them to please me and did not want to paint the whole thing and then “ruin” it with badly painted white flowers. This is the least colorful of all the paintings I’ve done, so it’s quieter. It speaks of trust, beginnings, becoming and it is anchored by the steadfastness of the giant sycamore tree.
April 2007 – 30″x22″ – Watercolor on paper
Blue Door
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I was on vacation with my parents just before my divorce in 1995 when I took this photo in Quarante, a small village in Languedoc where we spent a week. Those 12 days in France continue to be some of the best days I’ve ever spent on vacation, and I love being reminded of it by this painting.
This was an attempt to paint in a looser, more impressionistic style. It was an interesting experience, and I wasn’t sure I was happy with the resulting painting. A dear family member, Illa Newman saw this little photo in my journal at Marin Open Studios in May 2007. She asked about it. I was unsure about its appeal, so I had not included it in the show. I later took it to her and now, not only is it hers, but she has painted her front door blue! This painting evokes for her, her many visits to Puerta Vallarta, Mexico. I love how my work brings people to places that I’d never anticipated.
April 2005 – 22″x15″ – Watercolor on paper
Morning Shine
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When we were living in Petaluma, two dear girl friends – Cathy and Nancy – and I went jogging at the crack of dawn most mornings. The three of us were the “The Lulu’s” and our jogs were a hoot! Mostly we jogged in the rural areas just outside of town, but now and then I could talk them into a “garden tour” jog, to see what was blooming behind all the charming white picket fences in town.
Now that we’re in Fairfax, I head out in the morning with our dog — and sometimes with my camera. I took this photo in Dean and Nancy’s old place – they’ve moved on, but their garden blooms on. As often happens, I fall in love with an image and HAVE to paint it because of something that grabs me – in this one it was the light bouncing off the shiny camellia leaves. Wow!
And as often happens, I am challenged as to how to represent it with paper, water and paint. The background is a departure for me, it was just the side of the house in the image, so I got to play with layers of washes and subtle texture – it was fun. My husband really likes this painting – my guy’s guy – a pink flower – how cool is that?!
September 2010 – 22″x30″ – Watercolor on paper
Rhododendron Raindrops
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These blossoms are from a rhododendron bush in our front yard, right after the rain, in the bright late morning light. After the daffodils, these are the first of the spring flowers in our yard. They are faintly fragrant and so delicately colored. These images full of drops and sunlight have captivated me for a while and yet none of them seemed quite right. Playing around in Photoshop, I combined two images and the result jumped out saying “paint me.” Painting all these drops was fun and puzzling. Painting the center I had the thought that I was painting the inside of an oyster – the round organic shapes, the luminescent, pearly colors. It took a while for this one to proclaim itself finished. I’m happy that it is.
May 2009 – 22″x30″ – Watercolor on paper
Touched by the Sun
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This dahlia is from Mike and Julie’s garden where the Zin vines I’ve painted grow. All the Browns were at their place for a barbeque one day in the late summer of 2008. The low evening light on this flower caught my eye.
This painting swam in my imagination for weeks while I was preparing for, doing and recovering from showing my art at ArtExpo in New York in early 2009. I couldn’t wait for the time and energy to bring it through.
Its name comes from a Carly Simon song title. I’ve played this song for years and years, whenever I wanted to sing out or juice up my inspiration. This single bloom stands on its own – lit externally by the sun as well as from within by its own power.
April 2009 – 41″x29″ – Watercolor on paper
Twin Dahlias
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This is painted from an image from my stay in France in 1996. I took a long weekend on my own in August to tour the chateaux along the Loire valley. There was an amazing garden exhibition near one of the castles that was fascinating. These dahlias were growing in one of them. I’ve been in love with the right side of the image – it’s so full of motion. Painting it I became entranced by the light. Once finished, these two flowers evoked the spirits of my twin nieces: Kiersten and Nicole. One is face-first, full-out bold energy, the other a bit more reserved, thoughtful and mysterious.
June 2007 – 22″x30″ – Watercolor on paper
