My current paintings have grown from landscape representation toward the portrayal of spirit and atmosphere.
I began making landscapes of rain, trying to convey the meditative poetry of the moment and the essence of the atmosphere of the rain. I found that doing “rain” paintings of the places and things I love allowed me to be closer to portraying their presence (rather than pictorial likeness). In the rain paintings, it is intentionally unclear whether you are in the rain, looking out at the rain, or remembering it. The landscapes became objects, sometimes rain only. Most recently, the rain accompanies images of my mother’s old hats and evening bags. The spirit of these objects is more reverent and a little melancholy. The quiet, solitary, contemplative mood of the rain creates an ambiance which allows me to address spirit in the images.
In the beginning of the“rain” paintings, I painted the image first, and then began pouring, drizzling and dripping gouache over the top. I added and subtracted until the process felt complete. More recently, I have been starting the paintings by loosely painting and printing abstract, textural (sometimes drippy) backgrounds, suggesting rain, before adding the images. Often I make a background by doing several layers of watercolor monotype textures before starting the painting. I find that this “jump starts” the work, throwing me into a moving process. I frequently use gouache, gum arabic, and various masks which allow me to move freely through the work. This action emphasizes and facilitates the process. It is exciting, unpredictable and very much about the moment, each action and decision leading to the next.
Present
Position
Instructor: Watercolor, Drawing, City College of San
Francisco,
San Francisco, Ca.
Education
M.F.A., majoring in painting and drawing, June 1974, Miami University,
Oxford, Ohio.
B.S., majoring in art, 1968, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio.
Previous Teaching Experience
Instructor: Watercolor, University of California,
Berkeley Extension, San Francisco, 1986-98.
Instructor: Watercolor, California
College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, Ca., 1986-87.
Instructor: Figure Drawing,
Painting, Watercolor, de Young Museum Art School, de Young Museum, San Francisco,
Ca., 1979-87.
Instructor: Drawing, Watercolor, Richmond Art Center, Richmond,
Ca., 1986.
Instructor: Drawing, Design, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio,
1976-79.
Curatorial Experience
Associate Curator, Art Exhibition Program, San Francisco
International Airport, San Francisco, Ca., 1980-82.
Curatorial Assistant, Fine
Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1978-80.
Selected Exhibitions
• Kay Russell, Patricia Ancona, Helen Stanley, Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael,
Ca.,
2010
• Smallworks, juried exhibition , Artworks Downtown, San Rafael,
Ca.,
2009
• Watercolors
by Five Contemporary Bay Area Painters, Bolinas Museum, Bolinas Ca., 2009
• Rain and
Reflection, Sabbatical Show, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco,
Ca.,
2008.
• Marinscapes, juried exhibition, Escalle Winery, Larkspur, Ca.,
2008.
• Smallworks, juried exhibition , Artworks Downtown, San Rafael,
Ca.,
2008
• Falkirk Annual, juried exhibition, Falkirk Cultural Center,
San Rafael,
Ca.2007.
• Marinscapes, juried exhibition, Escalle Winery, Larkspur, Ca., 2007.
• Marin General Hospital, Atrium Gallery, one person show, Greenbrae, Ca.,
2006.
• Ebb and Flow, Bay Area Model. Sausalito Art Commission , 2nd place, Sausalito,
Ca., 2006.
• Marin County Exhibition, juried exhibition, Merit award , San Rafael,
Ca.,2006.
• Strong Ties, Diverse Connections. Artworks Downtown, San Rafael, Ca. 2006.
Artists Dialog, invitational exhibition, City College
of San Francisco, 2005.
Watercolor Travels, invitational exhibition, Civic Center, San Rafael,
Ca., 2004.
Sight and Insight, invitational exhibition, Mill Valley, Ca., 2004.
Art
Works Downtown Gallery, juried show, San Rafael, Ca., 2004.
San Rafael Corporate
Center, Invitational show, San Rafael, Ca., 2003
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art,
1st National Juried Show, Napa, Ca.,2003
National Watercolor Association, juror
and invited exhibitor, S.F., Ca., 2003
Bon Appetite, Merit award, Artisans
Gallery, Mill Valley, 2002.
Water Dragon Gallery, Invitational Gallery, Fairfax,
Ca., 2002.
Marin Society of Artists, invited exhibitor, Ross, Ca., 2002.
Marin
County Exhibition, Merit Award, Marin Civic Center, San Rafael, Ca., 2002.
Fallkirk
Annual, juried exhibition, San Rafael, Ca., 2002
The Salmon Lake Series, One
Person Exhibition, China Basin Landing Bldg.Gallery, San Francisco,
Ca., 2001.
Sacred
Images, Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, Ca., 2001.
Circle Gallery, Traveling
Watercolor Exhibition, 2nd Place, Madera , Ca., 2001.
One Person Exhibition,
Gray Eagle Lodge, Blairsden, Ca., 2001.
Annual Juried Exhibit of Marin Artists,
Fallkirk Mansion , San Rafael, Ca., 2001.
Triton Museum Statewide Watercolor
Competition, Merit Award, Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara,
Ca., 2000.
Crocker
Kingsley 72nd Award Exhibition, Crocker Museum, Sacramento, Ca., 2000.
Celebrate
Agriculture with the Arts, sixth annual juried competition, 2nd Place,
Circle Gallery, Madera, Ca., 2000.
Awakening to the Earth, invitational exhibition,
Marin Civic Center, San Rafael, Ca., 2000.
National Watercolor Society, annual
juried exhibition, Brea, Ca., 1999.
Eastern Washington Watercolor Society, juried
annual, Merit Award, Richland, Washington, 1999
