Details details...

I am currently producing a body a work a family member has agreed to promote on my behalf. My painting is influenced by most everything I see but am I most compelled by the elements of nature, which provide an awe-inspiring array of color and shape and line...and since I work for a cruise line most of my nature-themed pieces have something to do with the sea. Inspired by the idyllic beach scenes of John Miller, I tried to evoke the sense of peaceful abandon I felt as I lay on the beach through the use of line and color, with as little detail rendering as possible. I was pretty pleased with the result - sometimes putting the brush down and declaring a piece "finished" can be more exacting than the act of painting itself.

Half Moon Cay, Acrylic 8" x 10"

Cardinal Song

Cardinal - Acrylic on canvas, 8 x 10

In the late 90's my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Prior to his inevitable decline he was blessed with a period of heightened creativity and intense joy. Laughter and silliness came easily and he took great delight in sitting on the back porch echoing the sounds of the resident avian population. His best and favorite impression was that of the cardinal. The cardinal's song is a distinctive loud string of clear down-slurred whistles, which speed up and end in a slow trill. Sometimes it seemed that the bird itself was onto my father's impressions and, not to be outdone, would deliberately increase the speed and duration of its song. 

There are numerous religious, totem and new age interpretations associated with cardinal sightings. Most of them deal with the concepts of embracing our radiance and vitality, as well as that of renewal and hope. I associate the cardinal with my father and with the comfort of home and family. I created this painting for my holiday exhibition after spending the summer and fall in the Mediterranean. I found myself drawn toward cooler color palettes in celebration of winter and in being able to spend Christmas and New Years with those dearest to me. 

A Happening In Central PA

When I was a senior in high school my music teacher told my mother I should pursue a career in visual art and not music, because she thought my 'artistic' talent far exceeded my musical abilities. Although thoroughly incensed by that remark it was in no way a deterrent to my pursuing and achieving a successful career as a performing artist. It may also be true that I had to work harder for it. I discovered around the age of 5 that I had exceptional manual dexterity, rendering my subjects, mostly animals or TV personalities copied from photos, with impressive accuracy.


Drawing and painting was always a source of pleasure and satisfaction, whereas being a performer somehow wrapped itself around my identity to the point that if I didn't succeed at it surely I would DIE!!! Twisted though this my sound, clearly becoming an actor was my Raison d'être from adolescence and well into adulthood.


Like most of my New York based peer group I spent a great deal of time (and money) in acting class, voice lessons and therapy, peeling the proverbial psyche-onion. In the course of those explorations I came to terms with the reasons I became a performer; much of it a healthy extension of natural talent, passion and exuberance, peppered with equal parts low self esteem and a penchant for drama. I also discovered as I "matured" a developing confluence between my work as a performer and my pursuits as a visual artist, photographer and writer. I am summoned by all of these disciplines, sometimes simultaneously, depending on the task at hand, the story asking to be told.


All of this is a really drawn out way of saying 'I like to paint!' But since this is the first entry of a new blogspot I thought I'd provide a brief description of who I am and what brought me here. An artist's journey is rarely a linear path. I've had a career as a performer that has taken me around the world several times and I've always had either a paintbrush or my camera by my side.


This past November, after completing an exceptionally daunting 3-month contract on a cruise ship working as a port lecturer,  I did what I usually do when I disembark the ship and fly home: drop my bags and whip out the comfiest pair of jams I own and convalesce beneath my Slanket, nursing giant mugs of coffee. Soon however the the build up of creative magma acquired while onboard the ship: color, words, images, songs, ideas, stories, jokes, rage and dreams, all beg for release...just in time for a holiday trunk show!


This past weekend my sister, Brenda, and I joint-hosted an exhibition/trunk show at the Carlisle Historical Society's artisan gift shop. Brenda's work consisted exquisite one of a kind handmade jewelry. When I'm in a state of post-ship euphoria/shock I find it hard to reel myself in and create within a single through line, so my contribution was a mixture of original paintings, prints, photography and limited edited decorative boxes. The common thread to my work was the bold and undiluted use of color in my paintings. I have always admired the work of the modernist painter and illustrator Rockwell Kent. Like the subject matter for which he was renown,   I chose winter landscapes as my theme, using a cool and relatively limited color palette.

Above: Acrylic on Canvas 11x14

Above: Decorative Box, Acrylic on wood 4x4

Above: Mixed Media on paper 8x10, available as a greeting card

Digital Mixed Media Greeting Card 4"x6"

Carlisle PA: Pure Americana in the best sense of the word!

It felt great to throw myself into a creative project with a deadline!  Our work remains in the gallery on consignment: 

History On High - Cumberland County Historical Society, 21 North Pitt Street, Carlisle, PA