CSL Artist of the Month Show - July 2010

The second month of showing my art in the Center for Spiritual Living foyer. I switched some out and did some re-arranging. Still, for me, a very successful showing.

DIVERSITY 16x20 Oil on Canvas

This is the painting that started me into my second attempt at becoming a professional artist. I have always loved the abstract painting that could be anything to the eyes of the beholder. My journey in this world of abstracts has been an amazing trek into a world ruled by color, brush and pallet knife.

UNDERGROUND CAVERN 8x20 Acrylic on Paper

Stalactites and stalagmites – have you ever been spelunking? Does the idea of being a mile underground creep you out? Try it and be amazed at the beautiful sculptures created by dripping water. Here in Texas, you can even attend an amazing world flute and brass bowl concert down in the depths of mother earth.

This is the foyer gallery display at CSL Dallas(Center for Spiritual Living). My very first art show. I am the "Artist of the Month" for both June and July. Getting lots of "oooos" and "ahhhhs" from most of the viewers. Some even saying that the display makes them happy when they see it. There is even the possibility of a couple of sales. WoooHoooo!

SOM TEACHING SYMBOL 16x20 Acrylic on Canvas

The SCIENCE OF MIND TEACHING SYMBOL, designed by Ernest Holmes, symbolizes the creative process in God and in the individual. Its literal definition is “The descent of Spirit, through Law, into form.”
The circles of which there is usually one incorporated around the symbol contain the “trinity” of life.

OUT OF THE BOX 8 x 10 Acrylic on canvas SOLD

OUT OF THE BOX 8x10 Acrylic on Canvas

The box represents obligations and the list of things you have to get done. Allow yourself lazy days of just lying around and doing nothing in particular. Perhaps create paintings.
Get OUT OF THE BOX and relax.

ANTIQUE TRUCK 8x10 Acrylic on Canvas sold


Look in the back of an old car repair shop in a back roads town and find the old truck that Grampa drove when he carried Grandma to the picture show. It's a little rusted and banged up but the memories are still there.
SOLD

LONG JOURNEY HOME 16x20 Acrylic on Canvas

I was born and raised 5 minutes from the ocean in New England. Seagulls were everywhere and I believed they belonged to the ocean. When I moved to Nashville, I was surprised and delighted to see them. When I moved to Plano TX, I was amazed and delighted to see them. As I watch them fly or perch on top of a post, I am taken back to playing in the waves, building sand castles, clam bakes under the sand and the sounds and smells of the ocean. They take me on a LONG JOURNEY HOME.

TALL FLOWERS 7.5x20 Acrylic on Paper GIFTED

It's Spring. Flowers are everywhere. Just look along the sides of the road as you travel and see the beauty of the season.  In Private Collection

WHITEWASH 8x10 Acrylic on Canvas

This one is my new favorite. Another "paint over" with the texture showing through from underneath.

FLOWERS 8x10 Acrylic on Canvas

Learning and trying new things is GOOD. I painted the flowers, didn't like the way they looked so I painted over them. They were still there so I outlined them and liked it. I'm having fun and really enjoying the outcome.

MOONLIGHT 8x10 Acrylic on Canvas

It's been a while. I have a new job and have been very busy learning and very tired when I get home. Getting ready for a Trunk Show in June (more details to follow). And....waiting very impatiently to find out if I have been accepted for my very first art show in Dallas. I'll let you know.

ASCENDING 21x39 Acrylic on Wood Vaneer It is often a challenge to pull yourself up out of the bad places in your life. And if you are the person who is trying to pull others up, your ascention is twice as hard. You need to realize that not everyone who comes into your life is here for you to save. Rise above the clouds and journey to new and unexplored planets.
Release the fear.
You are brave.

UP AND AWAY 2 11x15 Acrylic on paper
This is the result of a painting "play date" with a good friend and fellow artist.

EARTHLY GUIDES 15x20 Oil on Paper We all walk our paths on this earth together, yet we are separated by bodies that don't allow us to feel the connection with each other easily. We come in contact with many souls who are at different levels of enlightenment. In this painting, the souls are represented in their varying levels using color. Most of us use the imagery of dark to light to symbolize the bad or good times in our lives. Therefore, the most troubled souls in this painting are Black, those filled with anger are Red, and the White ones represent the souls who recognize that the way to Light, Higher Energy, God or Spirit is through Love. And if we're lucky...we will realize the white ones are there to guide the rest of us on our journey.

UP AND AWAY 11x14 Acrylic on Paper

New style. I have been studying different artists and differents ways to express myself. This is a beginning of a new way.

GAZING 16x20 Oil on Canvas It wasn't until I set this one up on a stand to find it's name that I noticed the woman on the right side gazing up at the red sunset. I am always pleasantly surprised and amazed at how many times I experience "happy accidents" in my creative endeavors.

TRANSITIONS 16x20 Acrylic on Canvas At Church, the minister talked about one of the beloved members who had "transitioned." It took me a minute to realize she was saying the woman had passed away. According to Wikipedia, the transition state of a chemical reaction is a particular configuration along the reaction coordinate. It is defined as the state corresponding to the highest energy along this reaction coordinate. Therefore, when we transition, we move to the state corresponding to our Highest Energy, Light, Love, God.

MUSIC WITHIN 15x20 Acrylic on Paper



This painting started with the desire to try mixed media. The only thing added is a piece of sheet music from an old violin lesson book. Playing the violin has never been one of my abilities but ... I can sing and I love music of all kinds. I played at the guitar for a while but was never able to master it. The Native American Flute is my latest instrument of choice. I may never play it in front of an audience but my heart and soul grow calm from the sound as I play it for myself, my partner and the cats.

SHEKERE - Handmade West African Percussion Instrument These Shekeres have been made in the traditional manner using hollowed out gourds. The nets are plastic beads on either black nylon string, natural jute or jute cord. They can also be "beaded" using seeds or shells. The larger the gourd, the louder the sound. The large red one in the back is so loud it hurts the ears. They are for sale at $45 for small and $65 for large. At this posting, the two red ones and the blue one are available. The two in the back have yet to be beaded but will also sell for $45.

They can be shaken, twirled or rapped on the bottom to produce different sounds. They are a delightful addition to drum circles.

PLACES 5x7 Oil on mat board I've been to many PLACES throughout my life and have seen many things. I grew up 10 minutes from the Atlantic ocean and dug for clams on the Massachusetts beaches. I visited the Pacific ocean and walked the windy beaches of San Francisco, California while attending a convention. I traveled with my girl scout troup to Niagra Falls then up through Canada. I sipped coffee in NY City and choked on the powdery beignets in New Orleans. I've walked through caves in Lauray, Virginia and Austin, Texas and dug for diamonds in Arkansas. I looked with awe and fear from the roads edge on Bear Mountain and collected bits of pyrite in the streets of Shamokin, Pennsylvania. I changed a flat while crossing through the Everglades, Florida and drove the 750 miles back home on the donut. While in Nashville, I pulled weeds in the gardens of Opryland Hotel and fell in love with a city and country music. I've been to many PLACES.

COMMUNITY GARDEN Mixed Media Art Quilt 12x12

This art quilt traveled for a year in the 2008 Breaking Traditions Art Quilt Exhibit. The theme: With One Voice, benefited Virginia Spiegel's Fiberart for a Cause, raising $1,085 for the American Cancer Society.
"It is With One Voice that so many will plant, sow and harvest food for the body and flowers for the soul. I participate in a community garden and am proud to be one of a team that stretches across the nation helping to feed those in need. The feelings experienced after delivering the fresh produce to various shelters in the community are food for my soul. I salute all those who take the time out of their busy lives to help feed the hungry by actually tending the gardens."

GHOST SHIPS Oil on paper 15x20

This one started out in one direction and completely changed course on its own. I was looking to add to my STREETS series when the pirate ship came sailing through surrounded by the ghosts of ships it conquered. So...I added the crows nest and the seagulls and stepped away.

BEAUTY Mixed Media Art Quilt 4x4

This art quilt started with a piece of left over quilting from a stole I created for the minister. I added wire, beads, cord, fuzzy yarn, a magnetic word, buttons and a touch of paint. It was then sewn to a piece of denim cut from an old favorite pair of jeans I couldn't bear to throw away.

STREETS #1 Oil on paper 11x15

I like to work more with a pallet knife then a brush. I scrape on the color, step back and let the painting tell me what is next. Similar to allowing the characters of a novel to write the story. The colors are my characters.