Workshops

Over the holidays, my cousin Douglas brought his entire family to Santa Fe to ski. The snow wasn't great that weekend so his girls got to participate in an impromptu painting workshop that I held in my studio. The results were amazing. Miyabi, who is fifteen, made this collage piece using a transfer of a vintage letter and photograph along with other collage elements.

Skye, who is three years younger did several mixed media pieces. This one with words and textures is my favorite.

The girls had both had experience painting with acrylics, but their mom hadn't. Naomi produced this lovely, textured dragonfly her first time out!

Artistic Viewpoints

Years ago during classes at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography, I learned that there was never any need to feel protective of my photographic images. At school, we often went out in groups to shoot at the same location and no matter how many people took photos standing in exactly the same spot, no two images were ever alike. That was proven true again when my friend Nancy Nickel and I went to a flea market in Paris and took pictures of the same head. Her collage piece is on the top and my photograph is below.

More Pet Portraits

Meet Luna. She hangs around Las Chivas, the coffee shop where I get my morning brew. Dana gives her huge milk bone treats which she promptly buries. You can visit her and my other dog portraits on my website.

Third Annual Open Studio

Every year at this time, I open up my studio to collectors, friends and bargain shoppers. It's a time for me to clean house and make room for something new to happen. In that spirit, I offer much of my older work at wholesale (or below) prices.

It's also an opportunity for me to share my new interests which this year include more abstract work such as this piece titled On the Move. It's mixed media including collage, photography and acrylics on canvas.

I also have a couple of new projects like The Memory Project (featured in the previous blog) and my Dogs in Hats series.

At least once a year, I revamp my website to keep it looking fresh and lively. I finished that today, so check it out.

The Memory Project

I've begun work on a new series called THE MEMORY PROJECT where I use old snapshots, personal letters and mementos in a mixed media painting to create a one-of-a-kind remembrance of family and friends. This piece was created for my friend David using snapshots of his parents courting.

These commissioned pieces are a way to commemorate a moment or an era in your own life or in the lives of loved ones. As all the photos and papers are scanned, none of the originals are changed or destroyed.

California Road Trip

At the end of May, I threw my camera in the car and Tulip and I headed west to Santa Cruz to visit my old friend, David. I had hoped to see wild flowers in the desert, but no such luck. I drove hundreds of miles without an urge to photograph anything. It wasn't until David and I went to lunch one day that I stumbled upon an old gas tank that I thought had possibilities. I returned several times to the restaurant to photograph it and it has become the inspiration for a series of abstract paintings that are in the works.

Eldorado Studio Tour

It's my seventh year participating in the Eldorado Studio Tour, an event next weekend that showcases almost 100 artists exhibiting in their own studios or sharing the space of an artist friend. For the third year in a row, Robin Hilliard will bring her gorgeous jewelry to my studio. 

I'm eager to show my new mixed media work for the first time. This piece called Rocky Mountain Summer is a combination of acrylics and gel transfers.