Studio Time.

Never A Dull Moment

That is for sure.  Never ever a dull moment in the studio for me.  While working towards the creation, completion and installation of the Detours art work I have spent time at my jewelry table, at the easel, staged a home with several paintings, and spent the few moments it takes to change out the painting that hangs outside my front door.  From July's patriotic, flag inspired painting to this:

Kayaking Into The Rocks

48x30

A summer visual treat 'Kayaking Into The Rocks' was inspired by the massive granite boulders off the Crystal Bay Point.  And yes, my kayak is purple!  When not busy in the studio you might see me kayaking into the rocks.  

Public Art II

Detours-Kings Beach 2014

As one of the eleven artists invited to participate in Detours-Kings Beach 2014, I was tasked with selecting a location for my installation.  I chose a towering pine tree located adjacent to The North Tahoe Event Center and because the tree grows on California State Park land I have worked through the permission process with that entity.  There were a few hoops, successfully jumped, which included a CEQA process, meeting with the state park manager and their environmental scientist, agreements and restrictions about the installation. Deciding to wrap one tree instead of two. Then the paperwork.  Done done done.  All done and ready to go.  

I keep returning to the installation site to measure, meet with my team that will do the installation, and I find I am having different thoughts about the painting.  Originally I thought I would paint a representation of sky and Tahoe boulders including an underwater view which is so typical of my Tahoe paintings.  But after numerous visits I am thinking of using a painting created a few years ago that hung in my home which includes sky, a view across Tahoe, and a towering pine tree with branches and cones.  It's actually perfect for this location.  Though this is not the painting, it is very similar.  What do you think?

To contact me click HERE

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Public Art

Art Exhibited in a Public Space

Any art exhibited in a public space including publicly accessible buildings is Public Art.  It involves site specificity and the community within which it is placed.  The relationship between the content and the audience, what the art is saying, is as important as its physical location. In recent years, public art has increasingly begun to expand in scope and application engaging the community where it is placed. 

A couple years ago when I was asked to sit on a committee which would work to bring Public Art to Tahoe, I gladly accepted.  I believe in Public Art and what it can do for a community to create a sense of place, how it can enhance the visual appeal of a community, and how it can bring a community together.  

The first exhibition of Public Art in Kings Beach, one of the communities under the umbrella of Tahoe Public Art, Tahoe Public Art is a temporary, site specific installation, named DETOURS.  Designed as a self guided walking tour, Detours will feature eleven very different works of art in a variety of mediums.  Take away maps will be scattered throughout the community.  Eleven artists have been invited to create and display a work of art inspired by their assigned location.  I am one of the invited artists and my location is a towering pine tree adjacent to The North Tahoe Events Center.    

Pictured here are the drawings of my work which will be installed August 22nd and remain on location until September 1st.  

Inspired by the majesty, power, and clarity of Lake Tahoe, as viewed from this location and nearby lake areas, I will paint a 12' canvas which will then be striped and applied around the tree creating a skirt of sorts.  When the air is calm the strips will hang vertically, hugging the trunk of the tree.  The ability of the canvas pieces to 'ribbon' in the wind is inspired by the events and celebrations held on the patio at the North Tahoe Event Center.

During the next month I will be creating the painting and will take you through the steps, so check back to see how this painting comes to life.

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Found Object Art

Trash Art, Junk Art

Call it what you like, but art created from things picked up off the ground, out of the water, out of the trash, used, discarded stuff....junk....reformed, reused, recreated into something called art is just that, ART.  

Sardine Cones

How long has it been since you have seen a sardine can with a key type opener?  This little tin, plucked out of Lake Tahoe, was just screaming to become Found Object Art. With the addition of paint, pine cones and a bit of moss it became:  'Sardine Cones' and a reminder of swimming in Lake Tahoe.

It's Only A Matter Of Time

Out for a walk one day in the city of La Quinta I came across all of these items scattered in the gutters.  Cigarette boxes, snuff container, broken beer bottles and beer tops, even a watch.  When all this junk was worked together it became: It's 'Only A Matter Of Time.'  It's another piece of Found Object Art and when I see it I think of that walk.

Spammer

On another excursion, this time out into the desert, I came across this Spam can, a piece of plastic that fit perfectly into the can, and a granite rock that all came together to create: 'Spammer.'  Found Object Art that sits on a table to remind me of that particular day.

So on July 5th, while kayaking on Lake Tahoe, I pulled these items out of the water....

They all appear to be left-overs from the previous night's fireworks display.  They were merrily bobbing along the surface and they are destined to become works of art.  I am not sure exactly what I will do with them but the right side of my brain is churning.  It is doubtful I will keep the two items that look like they were never exploded. 

I may take these to the local fire station and let them deal with disposal.  But the rest of the stuff, junk, objects are just too great to throw out.  Art it will be and a reminder of a day, an event, an activity.  Unfortunately all of this Found Object Art is also a reminder of what is discarded, thrown out, casually discarded, to become litter, trash, and an eyesore to our environment.  

To contact me click HERE

To visit my web site click HERE

Independence

Fourth of July !!!!!

This date, if you live in the U.S., conjures up visions of colorful bursts of shimmering displays in the sky overhead, children swinging sparklers in bright circles, the BBQ flaming, friends and family gathering together, and the American Flag.

This is Independence Day for us.  The day we commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, the UK.

The week seems to be filled with red, white and blue, the colors of our flag.  You name it and it appears in these colors...food items, decorations, clothing...everywhere.  So is it a surprise I was inspired to create a painting to hang outside my front door in the palette of red, white and blue?  

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!!!