Hey there, just a sneak peek into the mark making process that I use to get the process started. First I am a big fan of the limited palette, meaning just 2 colors, black, white and titan buff. You can get so much variation from the tints, tones, and shades of the colors from adding black, white and buff. The nice thing about a limited color palette is that you can pick two complimentary colors and use those at full intensity and then with the tints and tones there errupts such a nice feel of “unity” to the painting. Unity is one of the elements of a good Abstract composition and it is easily accomplished with the limited palette technique.
First step pick your two colors, and play with them by adding black and white and put them next to eachother, see how they look. Once I am happy with the colors together and the tones I start with the mark making. There are so many ways to scribble and play and this part is so fun and freeing. This is where I get to be expresive and the process becomes meditative. When I tried to paint without starting this way the white of the canvas was stressful and overwhelming.
Once I get something down after about 15 - 20 steps of mark making and some mixed media … I have something interesting to use as a “jumping off” point!
This four piece series ended up showcasing white as the strong theme that ran through all of them. This is the result after just the mark making is done. Now its rest time, I will revisit it later to see if it needs more!
Acrylic on paper, mounted on wood
9 x 12 x 1.5
Acrylic on paper, mounted on wood
9 x 12 x 1.5
acrylic on paper, mounted on wood
9 x 12 x 1.5
Acrylic on hardboard, 8” x 10”, mounted in maple float frame
acrylic mixed media on wood panel, 16” x 16” x 1.5”\
“Fireworks” is one of my earlier pieces in the new to me process of starting with mark making. I got to add some paper, (mixed media) as well to this piece and I love that you can see different interesting areas up close than you can from far away. There are some Chinese symbols in this piece and I like the mystery it invokes.
acrylic on wood, 6 x ”6” x 1.5”
acrylic on wood panel, 20” x 20” x 1.5”
Love the vibrant and energized colors in this piece. I like to play with different colors and juxtapose bright colors that compliment eachother. I am a fan of the meandering quiet space that separates activity. Good composition is really key to a good piece and knowing how to balance the composition and unify the colors. Teal is my favorite and this bold Chartreuse color I just could not resist trying! LIVE BOLD!
acrylic on canvas, 16” x 12” x 1.5”
As much as I love Abstract paintings there is something that brings an Artist back to some form of representation of a landscape, we bounce back and forth between Landscape moods. It is Nature, nature draws you in and sometimes you just gotta paint some nature and capture that feeling that we all get from a long walk on the Greenway, or through the woods. I started with the mark making so I was able to keep it loose. You know what it is but I didnt have to over work it to get you to the feeling.
acrylic on wood panel, 20” x 20” x 1.5”
This painting is so light and fresh and pastel. I did not know what to name it at first it seemed soothing and I thought “soothing space” would be nice. Then one day I saw 3 large blooms and rain falling on them! Its funny it had been hanging for awhile before I noticed that. Now I just see this nice Spring floral with April showers.
Acrylic on wood panel, 24” x 24” x 1.5”
THESE COLORS! What can I say, I feel like I am on a Caribbean Island and lost in the Azure colors of that world. I just had to use the yellow to juxtapose the blues, the most beautiful blues of the Caribbean ocean. This piece draws me in with its happy and peaceful colors. They are alive and soothing at the same time. Let the blue wash over you.
Acrylic on canvas, mixed media, 8” x 8” x 1.5”
I wasn’t sure that the free paint process of mark making could be done on small pieces but this and the other smalls in my collection have proven me wrong. This is just a nice small piece with some big interest that could stand on a shelf with books as much as hang on the wall. I could see this as a part of a display area, something that adds a pop of color and movement. The way that this painting free process works creates so much movement in the composition that makes it playful.
Acrylic on wood panel with mixed media, 24” x 24” x 1.5”
I love Planetary Motions, the energy and the flow, this paiting feels alive. I feel like I am looking at the sky, at the solar system. The colors, the shapes and the feel of Aurora Borealis. Let this painting take you to another world. When you examine it closely you can see words written underneath the paint, wishes for peace and love. There are so many enticing layers to this piece everytime you look at it you will find a new area of interest.
Acrylic on canvas, 12” x 12” x 1.5”
Acrylic on paper, mounted on canvas. 11” x 14” x 7/8”
Acrylic on panel. 12” x 16” x 1.5”. mounted on maple float frame
Acrylic on paper, mounted on wood
9 x 12 x 1.5
acrylic on paper, mounted on wood
12 x 12 x 1.5
acrylic on paper, mounted on wood
12 x 12 x 1.5
acrylic on paper, mounted on wood
12 x 12 x 1.5
SOLD
acrylic on hardboard, 6” x 6”, mounted in maple float frame
OMG my husband and I were sailing in Long Island Sound and it was hot and we decided to anchor and go for a swim, just as I was about to put a toe into the water I saw this large, red and green jelly fish and immediately retracted my foot. What the heck, I did not want to get stung. I got on the internet and found that the jelly fish was called the Lion’s mane jellyfish and that was the inspiration for this piece! Beautiful jelly fish great colors but yikes I read that the stingers were quite nasty and painful!
acrylic on wood panel, 24” x 36” x 1.5”
This is by far my most successful (in my eyes) painting. This painting was created in May of 2020 during the lockdown days. I dont know where the feeling came from, I think by May I was frustrated and sick of feeling afraid of the virus and just let loose! I decided I never use Orange I will give it a try, I never paint on a larger substrate I will try that too and out came this! I love it, it is so beautiful and I have had so many compliments on it. Between May 2020 and March 2021 this piece has been accepted into 6 juried shows so I guess Art Jurors like it too!
acrylic on watercolor paper, mounted on wood panel, 11 x 14 x 1.5
Sometime around summer of 2020 I discovered Lewis Noble an Artist who lives in the UK. I love his work, it is abstract but he rips it up and puts it back together in a collage format for his notebooks and small pieces and I am intrigued by the compositions he creates. I tried to paint just pieces of information the way he does and I keep trying. I am not as successful as that because I end up with something more representative of the information that I am looking at (photos). This one piece though I really liked after I did it, it felt like a fun, easy, loose representative piece of a forest and I thought ok this is a keeper! I will be taking a Lewis Noble workshop in April 2021 and I cant wait to learn his process!
Acrylic on wood panel, 12” x 12” x 1.5”
Is it a reflection or a pathway, this painting seems surreal and mysterious. It sets the mood for a magical moonlit night with just the hint of a treescape in the distance. Its up to your imagination if there is water or land, reflection or pathway. Walk into the painting and experience it for yourself.
Acrylic on canvas, 20” x 24” x 7/8”
This painting started with just mark making and I had to look at it for awhile to see where it would go. I coaxed it into a loose floral with some variety of blooms and a bit of greenery and stems. Just enough to lure you into that garden and take a closer look.
Acrylic on watercolor paper mounted on wood panel, 18” x 24” x 1.5”
If you look closely at this piece you can see a shadow of two faces looking at eachother, getting ready for a kiss. In the first round of paint the two faces actually met. I had to work some blue paint through the middle to separate the shadow faces and created a sense of longing and intimacy in this piece. Although it has some energetic movement and some pops of color it engages me in a peaceful way.
Acrylic on hardboard, 12” x 16”, mounted in maple float frame
Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 15” x 30” x 1.5”
acrylic on canvas. 12” x 12” x 1.5”
Acrylic on canvas. 11” x 14” x 1.5”
Acrylic on hardboard. 12” x 16” x 1.5”, mounted in maple float frame
Acrylic on canvas, 20” x 20” x 1.5”
Contact the artist
questions? want to know more about one of these works? higher resolution images available