60. Long's Park Art Festival

This is the first time that I have been an exhibitor at this festival - I always thought that it was too hard to get into, so I didn't apply.  Note to self:  you won't ever get in if you don't apply!  I am honored and nervous!  Please stop by and say hello - I will have lots of new paintings.  Actually almost all of the work will be from this year!

59. Cloud Revisions

 Final Version

This painting has been in my studio for several years, most of the time facing the wall.  I need one more large painting for upcoming festivals, so I thought that I would try to rework this painting.  I am really happy with this version.  I like the path and the warmth of the last light of evening permeates the atmosphere of the painting.

I reworked this version in order to lighten the sky and change the direction of the path - it was parallel to the angle of the clouds.  And I wanted more texture in the foreground grasses.

This is the initial painting - it was too blue.

58. First Morning Light

First Morning Light 

oil on panel, 8"x 8"

I have spent a lot of the summer finishing up large studio paintings in order to be ready for two festivals - and also to escape the heat!  This has been a really hot summer.  It was fun to change size scales so dramatically -  30x40 to 8x8.  I like this one enough that I could see taking it to a larger size!

57.Artist Statement

I paint in oil to satisfy my own personal need to create.  It is a thrill for me to get lost in luscious color, compositional arrangements and mark-making.  Painting allows me to center myself, and to let the chatter of the world slip away. 

I love to paint landscapes, especially those of beauty: the golden light of dusk, clouds building on the horizon or leaves backlit by the sun.  In response, I lift up the splendor of the natural world as a reaction against the ugliness so often found around us.  Often, this might be a scene that might be overlooked:  a pond, a field at dusk, or a simple tree.  I want to capture that moment of beauty and my place in that moment.  When I am successful, my work reflects an elusive moment of peace and serenity in an otherwise chaotic world.

These moments of beauty are for me a glimpse of the “thin spaces” – those small gaps through which I can touch the edge of heaven.  I feel closest to the “Divine” when I am painting outdoors. Even when I am in my studio painting, I am still exploring for those ephemeral moments of grace that transcend my worries of everyday. 

My hope is that my paintings bring a moment of serenity to my viewers as well.