I was raised by a gardener and a wood carver; both lovers of nature. I was surrounded by the Appalachian mountains and was taught early on about the differences between perennials versus annuals and to respect and protect nature. I am a painter, a writer and am deeply curious and protective of the environment. I have an abiding love for all natural forms. These paintings consist of garden-escapes that aim to whisk the viewer away and into fanciful flights from everyday life. My paintings are a reflection of time as I dream of travel from my backyard.
This series of paintings emerged during the global pandemic. In my back yard nature seemed to slow down and become magnified more than ever before. My “garden-escapes” capture this slow revolution of time. The paintings offer delight through hidden gems waiting to be discovered in a space overlapping with light and ethereal layers. The imagery in this series uses distinct and navigable representation of objects found in nature combined with the mystical, unknowable, and ultimately freeing spaces that raise the spirit and offer an escape for the mind.
“Garden of Eden”
2021
96in. x 54in., Gold leaf, acrylic and oil and canvas
(8 feet x 4.5 feet)
This piece was started in March 2020 at the beginning of lockdown and was completed a year later in March 2021. This painting is a metaphor for temptation and the world in which we live today. There are 13 animals within the piece, each with a purpose and a given fate. The python is tempted by the apple, which is a symbol of original sin. The sloth is tempted by slow-moving time. These drowsy tree-dwellers sleep up to 20 hours a day. Even when they are awake, they barely move at all, missing much of life and its constant change. The toucan doesn’t realize he has two predators at his rear, the green python and the cougar. He is joyfully flying towards the chameleon without looking back. The peacock is tempted by the death’s-head hawkmoth larvae. Although he may look delicious, he is venomous to birds and when threatened, they click their mandibles and try to bite their attacker. When they change from larvae to moth, a skull-like mark is apparent on its thorax. Two large moths were discovered in the bedchamber of King George III in 1801, during his second major incident of madness. The peacock also has the leopard as a predator. The baby chimpanzee has the python as a predator. The butterflies can be eaten by chimpanzees, pythons, tree frogs and chameleons. Although chameleons are near the bottom of the food chain and can be eaten by pythons, toucans and the baby chimp. The leopard is tempting the viewer with her unusual color and gaze. Is she friendly, or will she attack? The viewer is tempted by the setting as a whole. Is it inviting and fantastical or too good to be true?
“Chinoiserie Garden”
2021
40in x 60in, Mixed-Media on Canvas
“The Garden Within”
2021
18in x 24in oil, acrylic, collage and gold leaf on canvas
“Chasing Shadows”
2021
40in x 40in, Oil, acrylic, pastel & spray paint on beveled tondo (round) canvas
“Viva”
2021
40in x 40in, Oil, acrylic, soft paster, graphite and stitching on beveled tondo (round) canvas.
“Our Elusive Nature”
2021
36in x 36 Oil, acrylic, soft pastel, and ink.
“In the Sun”
2021
46in x 46in oil & acrylic on beveled tondo (round) canvas
“Postcard From Cuba”
2021
42in x 42in, Oil, soft pastel, and acrylic on canvas
“Growth and Regrowth”
2021
16in x 20in, Oil & acrylic on canvas
“Lemon Meringue (Mag)pie”
2021
36in x 36in, Oil & Acrylic on canvas
“See Through My Walls”
2021
30in. x 30in., Oil, Acrylic, and soft pastel on canvas
“Seeking Solitude”
2021
36in. x 48in, Oil, Acrylic and Soft Pastel on Canvas
“In Between Dreams”
2021
30in. x 30in., Oil, sewn canvas, pastel and acrylic on canvas
“Sweet Magnolia”
2021
34in. x 46in., Oil, acrylic, canvas, thread, and soft pastel.
“The Sun Seeker”
2021
48in x 48in, Mixed-Media on Canvas
“Above the Lowlands”
2021
18in x 24in oil, acrylic, soft pastel and thread on layered canvas
“Blueberry Picnic”
2021
36in. x 12in. 18in x 24in oil, acrylic, soft pastel and thread on layered canvas
“Among Papaya Flowers”
2021
18in x 24in., Featuring the Eurasian hoopoe, Oil, Acrylic, soft pastel and graphite on canvas
“Botanical Fun House”
2021
36″ x 12″ Mixed-Media on 3-D Canvas
“The Wisdom of Hindsight”
2021
24in x 24in, featuring the burrowing owl. Oil, acrylic, graphite, gold leaf, heavy weight sewn thread, and canvas on stretched linen.
“Inverted World”
2021
36in x 36in Oil, acrylic, soft pastel, graphite and ink.
“Avant Garden”
2021
24in x 24in, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
“While The World Sleeps”
2021
24in x 24in, Semiabstract mixed-media chinoiserie gardenscape
“Perch and Pear”
2021
24in x 48in., Oil, Acrylic and Pastel on Canvas
“Find a Place to Rest Your Wings”
2021
24″ x 48″, Oil, Acrylic, and soft pastel on canvas
“The Waiting”
2021
30in x 30in, Semiabstract mixed-media chinoiserie gardenscape
“Garden of Freedom”
2021
Oil, gold leaf & acrylic on linen
“Emerald Cuckoo & Palm”
2021
Semiabstract mixed-media chinoiserie gardenscape
“Yellow Warbler I”
2021
Oil, collage, gold leaf and acrylic on tondo (round) canvas
“Yellow Warbler II”
2021
Oil, collage, gold leaf and acrylic on tondo (round) canvas
“Julie’s Garden I”
2021
Semi-abstract Oil, acrylic & collage chinosierie garden-scape on large-scale archival paper
“Julie’s Garden II”
2021
Semi-abstract Oil, acrylic & collage chinosierie garden-scape on large-scale archival paper
“Drifter”
2021
14″ x 20″ (framed in reclaimed 4″ oak)
“Abstracted Gardens”
2021
Oil, gold leaf, and acrylic on stretched linen canvas
