December Morning

December Morning

Oil on Canvas

24"X18"

Today is the Solstice

"Late dawn. Early sunset. Short day. Long night."

"No matter where you live on Earth’s globe, a solstice is your signal to celebrate." 

So says Earthsky.org

Good advice.

Despite everything, it's time to lighten up.

I am surrounding myself with friends and family, being extra kind to absolutely everyone, and focusing on glimmers of hope. 

Let the light in, what little there is.

Letting the Light In

Letting the Light In

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

Being in touch. With family and friends, and making contact with everyone I encounter. Embraced by my community, small kindnesses greet me at unexpected times. A faint rainbow flickered on the horizon last week during a light rain. I am holding on to hope. And beauty. And goodness.

Words of Wisdom

Words of Wisdom

Oil on Wood

12"X12"
Available for sale online HERE.

In this distressing time, I stepping away from the breaking news cycle hoping to find some solace in the written word. I am craving quiet contemplation while reading well chosen words of wisdom.

Rough Sea

Rough Sea

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

May calm civility be on the horizon.

Engaging with Ellsworth Kelly ('Red Green) at MOMA

Engaging with Ellsworth Kelly ('Red Green') at MOMA

Oil on Wood

8"X10"
SOLD

The colors, the angles, the light, the perspective, the scale, the space, the humanity. What's not to love?

Garden Rose Bouquet

Garden Rose Bouquet

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

Available for Sale HERE.

Friends for lunch. In the Fall. For fun. And to feel connected. The goodness lingers long after they are gone. Time well spent.

A Moment with Marden at MOMA

A Moment with Marden at MOMA

Oil on Wood

8"X10"

Making my way through the maze of San Francisco's downtown construction zone last week was good preparation for navigating through the new SFMOMA.  I missed the old entry, the grand welcoming stairway, with its unexpected shafts of light,  and I found myself in dead end hallways more than once. But there were highlights. Being surrounded by Brice Marden's paintings,  "The Sisters" and others gathered in one small room amplified my discombobulated state perfectly.  Art imitates Life. Once again.

Well Read

Well Read

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

SOLD

The fog rolled in ending our heat wave and with it the fantasy that Summer might last forever.

Fall is in the air. Well worn old books beckon.

Red Hydrangea

Red Hydrangea

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

The garden offered up a red hydrangea this morning. A little Fall color for the Heath lavender vase seemed appropriate, especially given the meaning attributed to hydrangeas: gratitude and thanksgiving to someone else. 

Where to start? Bill at Volvo who fixed my old car this morning.  Sohrab Saghezchi at Southern Marin Dental who fixed my crown today. My dearest, oldest friends with whom I talk about everything over lunch, by phone, and at tea time. The young friends who make me feel hip and happening. Gratitude and thanksgiving indeed.

Double Standard

Double Standard

Oil on Wood

8"X10"

Available for Sale HERE.

See the wide open spaces of "Ed Ruscha and the Great American West" show at the de Young Museum before it leaves October 9. It's a breath of fresh air. 

Gift from the Garden

Gift from the Garden

oil on Wood

12"X12"

White anemones proliferate in my garden in the Fall. When nothing else blooms. there they are, looking lovely, standing tall, requiring no care, gently swaying in the breeze, a perfect occupant for my new lavender Heath vase. 

Some say European peasants carried anemones to ward off disease. Thinking of you, my friend, front and center on my mind.

Solitude

 Solitude

Oil on Wood

12"X12"
Available for sale HERE.

How sweet it is.

California Native

California Native

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

SOLD

Home, home on the range,
Where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the skies are not cloudy all day.

Homecoming

Homecoming

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

Family and friends gathered around our table. They brought food and a gorgeous lavender Heath vase. In the garden, a hydrangea is blooming, bluer than blue. Home. Celebrating everyday. Every day, a celebration. 

Island Wedding

Island Wedding

Oil on Wood

8"X10"

An August evening at the boatyard celebrating love. This one is for them. With gratitude.

Island Queen

"Island Path"

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

Queen Ann's Lace on Ann's birthday. Celebrating the beauty and sweetness of both.

Red Orange Pink

Red Orange Pink 

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

Jan came to dinner last night carrying a bright red, orange, pink, bouquet gathered from her garden, presented in a yellow and red Cafe Bustelo Espresso Ground Coffee can. An enormous deep red dahlia hangs off one side, and the whole thing is so upbeat and inspired it fills the room with hope. August is exhilarating. 

August Sea

"August Sea"

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

SOLD

 Stocking up on Summer memories starting with the sea. Coming and going, changing, always changing. Watching from here is enough entertainment to keep me going for days.

August on the Water

"August on the Water"

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

International One Design boats racing in the Great Harbor of Mount Desert on an August afternoon. What a show! 

August Air

"August Air"

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

SOLD

Dry, crisp, brisk. That's August, and that's what we remember deep in December when summer recedes into the distance.  

August Bouquet

August Bouquet

Oil on Wood

10"X10"

Sunday afternoon, Jan, whose garden is the pride of the island, delivered this bouquet to my porch. I did nothing to deserve it, but there it was, an array of August flowers in a Casa Visco Pizza Sauce jar. That's island living for you. Unexpected beauty and bounty punctuates the day without warning. That's true in real life too, but we are often too busy to notice. Happy August, everyone.

August Dusk

"August Dusk"

Oil on Wood

20"X16"

August in Maine. Always a show. Never gets old.

Evening in August

"Evening in August"

Oil on Wood

20"X16"

It was one of those evenings; smooth water, dramatic sky, deep reflection, muted color, glowing light.  The stuff that dreams are made of. This end of the birthday celebration couldn't have been predicted which made it all the more stupendous.

Two Guys on the The Dock

Two Guys on the Dock

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

It was a fine day for boating to lunch at The Claremont to celebrate an August birthday. Old friendships improve aging immeasurably.

Heading Out

Heading Out

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

There was no doubt this was to be a rowing morning. Warm, still, smooth, and silky, So we set off first thing.  Later, the wind came up, clouds gathered, and it has been raining gently all afternoon.  Lesson learned again:  Go where and when the weather dictates. If only real life worked this way. 

Gathered from the Island

"Gathered from the Island"

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

Friends gathered bringing world renown cabbage slaw, celebratory pink rhubarb drinks, and this delicate island-grown bouquet in its bright yellow vintage vase.  Friendship, laughter, and longevity is alive and well on our island.

August Island Afternoon

August Island Afternoon

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

Old made new in every light.

August Morning in Maine

"August Morning in Maine

Oil on Canvas

12"X12"

When the day starts like this, it almost doesn't matter what happens next. 

Island Inspiration

"Island Inspiration"

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

SOLD

Today started with a morning row around the ledge,  tennis, followed by lunch on the deck, painting, and then a gathering to hear long time and much loved island resident, Michael Westphal talk about the history of running on Cranberry Isles. It was too nice a day to be indoors, but we went because Mike's running accomplishments continue to accrue and amaze despite his battle with Parkinson's. 

Watch this.

Get inspired.

One of Those Warm Gray Days

One of Those Warm Gray Days

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

SOLD

The sea is calm, the air is soft, and clouds blanket the island. August begins with muted colors matching my mood almost exactly.

Fresh Start

Fresh Start

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

It's summer on the island again.  My neighbor's laundry is blowing in a gentle breeze and the clouds are putting on a show. We've seen it all before but it feels new each year. Exploring what I know and seeing it in a new light never gets old.

Sonoma Meadow

"Sonoma Meadow"

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

A big patch of Queen Anne's Lace has popped up in the meadow. There is a lot to love about a  flower that takes root all by itself, requires no care, and dances in the breeze, its soft white blooms highlighted against the dark green evergreens, as celebratory as champagne bubbles on a summer afternoon.

Unfinished at the Met Breuer

Unfinished at the Met Breuer

(Lady with Orange Purse and Blue Hat Puts the Finishing Touch on Turner's
 "Sun Setting Over a Lake")

Oil on Wood

10"X10"

I took time out from bathing in babies and love this month to see "Unfinished" at the Met Breuer. It asks the question, "When is a work of art finished?" Answer: Never. For me, paintings come to life when viewers approach and view and look and contemplate and glide on by. When shadows fall and light shifts or someone's clothing happens to mirror or accentuate the painting's palette, or when a stance is taken inviting a closer look, that's when art breaths. Babies, love, art. It's all unfinished, and it has to be seen to be appreciated.

First Dance

First Dance

Oil on Wood

6"X8"

After being bathed in babies and love for the last month, I returned to the solitude of Sonoma where the birds sing, the sun shines, and I am back to painting what is foremost on my mind.

Birth Day

"Birth Day"

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

I watched the sunrise from my bedroom early this morning, anxiously awaiting word from the East Coast.

There was a pool of white light on the water so bright, so startling, and so beautiful, I couldn't help thinking it was sent by our loved ones from the Great Beyond signaling their participation in this momentous occasion.

Then the call came.

"We have Baby."

"Everything is Perfect."

Another miracle.

And everything is right with the world.

Summer Reading

"Summer Reading"

Oil on Wood

10"X10"
SOLD

The promise of things to come. 

Westerly Weather

Westerly Weather

Oil on Canvas

30"X30"
SOLD

I just discovered a sketchbook from the 60s when I was in college. It is filled with drawings, portraits of people I actually recognize, and many random, disorganized notes from readings, classes, and  thoughts.  I am struck by how much of today's me I recognize. What touched me then, touches me now. One page is just a series of staccato ink marks. At the top is written, "Scarlatti -- I love you." And then one whole page on which is written, "Union Street. Home sweet home." That brings tears to my eyes. Home has always been where my heart is. Some things never change.

A Break in the Weather

A Break in the Weather

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

You would think that after all these years of painting, I would know what I am doing. But each painting is like starting over. Huh. I guess "Live and Learn" isn't true after all.

In The Cloud

In The Cloud

Oil on Wood

14"X11"

 My head has been in the clouds in more ways than one, lately. 

Light at the End of the Day

Light at the End of the Day

Oil on Wood

12"X12"
Available for Sale HERE.

Letting the light in is always a good idea;  smiling at a stranger, lunch with a friend,  the whiff of a rose first thing in the morning, the San Francisco skyline morning, noon or night. It's the little things that punctuate the day around here. Little miracles shedding light on life.

In the Pink with Rothko

In the Pink with Rothko

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

SOLD

Rothko's "Pink and White Over Red" warms the heart, continuing to glow like an after image, long after seeing it at the Anderson Collection at Stanford University last week. It's worth a trip to meander through the beautifully designed building gazing at wonderful art without crowds or any hullabaloo. Admission is free. A gift that keeps on giving.

In the meantime, speaking of gifts, Spring has sprung in the garden. Everything is in bloom. Dogwoods, calla lilies, roses, azaleas, camellias, wisteria, blue bells, and my favorite, forget-me-nots. It was a little miracle that just happened to coincide with Easter and the turkeys that strutted their stuff in the Sonoma meadow on Saturday.  The tenacity of Nature is a great tonic at this time of year. The color, the fragrance, the beauty, and audacity of it all. It even rivals Rothko.

San Francisco Storm

San Francisco Storm

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

SOLD

I'm already missing the soft gray tones that gathered over San Francisco Bay during last week's parade of storms. An "atmospheric river" they said, and that it was. Now, warmed by the sun and buoyed by watching the dedicated DC Eagle pair hatching their eaglets within view of webcams for all to witness online, a fine mist of hope is in the air. Just in time to end the continuing cycle of bad news. 

The Day The Rain Came Down

The Day the Rain Came Down

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

SOLD

It is still raining. Let it rain. Let it rain. Let it rain.

Wandering Into Pierre Bonnard's World

"Wandering into Pierre Bonnard's World"

Oil on Wood

10"X10"
SOLD

It might have been a simpler time, the turn of the Century in which Bonnard came of age.  But his interiors remind me of ours. Yes, that is a dog at the table with the woman in "Reading the Newspaper," my favorite at the "Pierre Bonnard: Painting Arcadia" show at The Legion of Honor.

All these years later we see ourselves reflected in his intimate moments because after all, Life is Life being lived no matter where or when.

Another Day on San Francisco Bay

Another Day on San Francisco Bay

Oil on Canvas

40"X30"

Moody and moist. 

I happened upon Bach's Brandenburg Concerto on the car radio this morning as I was out attending to errands. What a respite from the incessant inane news of the day! Back to Bach, always a remedy for outside world overload. A gentle rain has been falling all day adding to my inclination to hunker down away from it all.

Looking Up To Rafael's Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn

"Looking Up To Rafael ('Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn)"

Oil on Wood

8"X10"

Rafael's "Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn," is on view at the Legion of Honor, in a specially built, small, dark maroon room way at the back of the upstairs galleries. The painting is in the United States for the first time, on loan from Galleria Borghese in Rome. It is old. And it glows. And this young girl came in to see. Old meets youth and a connection is made. Art inspires Art. Every time.

Valentine Time

Valentine Time

Oil on Wood

12"X12"

What's not to love about LOVE on a warmer than it should be President's weekend that includes deep red tulips in a red foil wrapped pot? 

Absorbed in Rothko's Glow

"Absorbed in Rothko's Glow"

Oil on Wood

8"X10"

Sometimes words are superfluous.

Seeing Stella

"Seeing Stella"

Oil on Wood

10"X10"

SOLD

"What you see is what you see," Frank Stella. 

Frank Stella's, Chodorow II, painted in 1971, is one of a series referring to Polish villages whose synagogs were lost. I didn't know that when this piece at the Whitney's Stella Retrospective stopped me in my tracks. Art speaks volumes. What you see is what you see. 

On a related subject, last week I read about Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds who in January, 1945 refused to say which of his fellow prisoners of war were Jewish, thus saving 200 of them. "We are all Jews Here," he said. 

Reading his story, in the New York Times gave me all kinds of hope for humankind. It came at a good time.

Now and Then at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston

"Now and Then"

Oil on Wood

10"X10"

The great John Singer Sargent painted a portrait of Louise Pomeroy Inches of Boston in 1887. 

And in 2016 it grabs attention at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Oh art, how I love you.