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.