I have a book called “Home Ground” (edited by Barry Lopez). It is a compilation of words that describe our natural landscapes. Writers from across North America submitted words with their definitions and history. The result is a dictionary-like book. I decided to create a piece of art for each letter in the alphabet - the “Home Ground Series.”
Over a decade in the works, I am pleased to have it finished. Click here to see the series. Or, click the “Portfolio” tab in the navigation bar up above.
A discordant landscape is any spot on the Earth where there is a marked change between to two areas of the land: river with shoreline, fault line, mountains to planes. It can be small and miniscule, or it can be on such a scale that it needs to be viewed from the air. I am attracted to the drama. This piece is reminiscent of being observant. This piece is part of the continuing series, “Home Ground” - words that describe our natural landscapes.
“Discordant Landscape” colored pencil on museum board, 40x28 inches
I have had this theme brewing in my mind for quite a while. Some of my pieces are inspired by the book “Home Ground,” a compilation of words that describe our natural landscape. Each time I cross the continental divide I am reminded of how much I am a speck on the landscape, and the water beneath my feet will flow to either of two oceans. There are just a few places on our planet where “triple divide peaks” send water off to three oceans. One can be found in Montana, inside Glacier National Park. As intrigued as I am by this, I stumbled with imagery representing the concept. This aerial view is an effort. I don’t think I have “hit the nail on the head,” and perhaps will try again. For now, this is it.
A short (1:15) video on creating this piece
“Continental Divide: Triple Divide Peak” light-fast colored pencil on museum board, 39x31
Map makers will mark the Hundredth Meridian as running through the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. When explorer John Wesley Powell came along, he observed this was roughly the line between arid land to the west and fertile farm land to the east. Today, this organic line of annual rainfall has shifted to the east and now lies at about the 98th longitude line - another indicator of climate change. This drawing has a shifting divide in the middle to represent arid and fertile landscapes.
“Hundredth Meridian” colored pencil on museum board, 40 x 28 inches
There was a garden themed gallery show coming up. I wondered how could I submit something to this show when I don’t do representational work? Giving it some thought, I remembered how inspired I get from the petals of fresh tulips in the spring. Their colors are so rich and welcoming. I decided I could represent that feeling of awe for their color. Can you see how this is three tulips, sharing a vase, and I am not paying attention to the stems, vase or surroundings?
“Three Tulips” colored pencil on museum board, 40 x 30 inches
I first saw the water pocket fold from an airplane. I didn’t know what it was. I saw a large gash, in the Earth. It stretched a long way. Mystified as to what it was, I used my phone to take a photo - knowing it would show me the location where the photo was taken.
Back at home, I looked up the location and learned it was Capitol Reef National Park - a 100 mile long fold in the Earth’s crust. This is where the Earth’s plates collide. One goes under, the other folds over, creating a pocket.
Another year later I was seeing Capitol Reef Park by foot. It is a fascinating place to visit. It is impressive from the air and very fun to visit by foot.
“WaterPocket Fold” 40 x 20 inches, colored pencil on museum board.
As we go about our day-to-day lives, it is easy to forget we are standing on the crust above molten lava. Years ago, I hiked through lava tubes at Mt. St. Helens. I thought it was interesting to learn how the tubes were formed by molten lava flowing down hill with the outer crust cooling first, creating a tunnel. Those tubes blew up when the mountain exploded in 1980. When I visited an active volcano, I felt nervous. The sights, the smells, the ground rumbling and the sounds got mixed with the hope to get out of there alive. This piece represents our Earth’s drama. This piece has sold.
Haiku:
Molten lava flows
Crackling, popping, glass breaking
Sulfur, heat, glow, black
“Fissure” colored pencil on museum board, 39 by 29 inches
This piece has sold.
Haibun:
My work uses the emotive quality of color to represent the feeling of a landscape. Lately I have been intrigued by shadows cast by moonlight or sunlight through deciduous trees. It is a way of showing a tree without actually showing the tree. In this case, I am seeing the effects of bright high noon sunlight filtering through my plum tree. The leaves are illuminated, changing from burgundy to red and orange.
“Shadows Through the Plum Tree”
colored pencil on paper, 40 inches high by 30 inches wide
Haiku:
sunlight filters through
shadows are cast, colors blaze
illuminating
Haibun:
There are places in Washington State where we rise up over the summit of the Cascades and can see the expanse of the eastern slopes of the mountain range. It seems we can see as far as Nebraska, but we can’t of course. There is the sky above and rolling hills below. The horizon is veiled in haze. Some hills are patterned with farm land full of wheat. One of these vistas can be found just east of Chelan, crossing the Columbia River and driving up the steep hills to Mansfield. Another vista point is near Yakima, and another is at Steptoe Butte. From these places we can see the dreamscape of lazy blue skies and quilted landscape.
“Steptoe Butte” colored pencil on museum board, 39 x 84 inches
Haiku:
Quilted fields of wheat
Vague horizon in the haze
Lazy sun, warm, dream
These are windows - abstracted. Each window has its own point of view. A few years back I did a series of pieces on being “liminal.” This new piece is a “throwback” to that series, inspired by some current events.
The word “liminal” comes from the Latin root, limen, which means “threshold.” The liminal space is the “crossing over” space – a space where you have left something behind, yet you are not yet fully in something else. It's a transition space. There is a theory that our best creativity comes through when we are liminal. Great growth occurs. In this case, windows are used as a symbol of liminality instead of a doorway. This piece has sold.
“Windows” 18 inches by 40 inches, colored pencil on paper
These two images look similar, but have different sources of inspiration. The short video below will tell their stories.
“Shadows Dance” 40x18 inches, colored pencil on paper. Haiku: Bright morning sunlight / Wood blinds clatter in the breeze / Shadows dance on wall. (This piece has sold.)
“Nature’s Cadence” 40x18 inches, colored pencil on paper. Haiku: Rhythmic rolling waves / Corrugated cumulus / Crinkled sand ridges
“Bergschrund” 40 x 30 inches, colored pencil on museum board
This drawing below was the original “Bergschrund” drawing. This version is framed, 40 inches by 30 inches. Please scroll down to find a short video about this piece.
“Bergschrund” 40x30 inches, colored pencil on paper
A bergschrund is a place on a mountain where a glacier is separating from the rock surface, creating a large gash. Scroll down a bit and you will find a 3-minute video of me explaining the source of inspiration, frustrations in creating, and moving through to the final image.
This is 40 inches tall by 30 inches wide, colored pencil on museum board. There is a light spray of acrylic paint (applied with a mouth atomizer) to provide texture.
Continuing in the series of shadows, this piece is from the morning. I use light fast (non fading) colored pencil on archival paper. This series is long and narrow: paper size is 19 inches high by 50 inches wide. This piece has sold.
Colored pencil on paper, 19x50 inches
The outdoor lights shine through the window, casting shadows on the wall. This shadow changes, depending on the season. Now days, there are leaves on the trees which move in the night breeze. As I fall asleep, I can watch the shadows dance. It is a calming way to fall asleep.
“Midnight Shadows” 19 x 50 inches, Light fast colored pencil on paper
We are all tired by the pandemic, riots, politics, and the disruption of our daily lives. In the studio, I needed to breathe some new life into my art. Fifty inch wide paper seemed to be the thing to do. For subject matter: “Horizon” We need a little hope. A good horizon can give us hope.
These are 50 inches wide and 19 inches tall, colored pencil on paper. You will see these are two variations on the same composition. It is fun to see them together. Compare them. See how the organic and straight lines in each composition are telling the same story. I found I enjoyed working in this elongated size and plan to do more.
“Blue Horizon” 22 by 52 inches, colored pencil on paper (This piece has sold.)
“Horizon in Orange” 22 by 52 inches, colored pencil on paper
All creative juices stopped flowing with the onset of Covid19. With our new “stay at home” orders, I was not gaining inspiration from nature as I normally would do. I felt lost in the studio; uninspired and perhaps a bit depressed by the world around me. And then I came across a quote by Georgia O’Keeffe I had seen years ago: “I found that I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way - things that I had no words for.” I have always felt the same. I decided to trust those shapes in my mind, and perhaps during this time of isolation, I could put something down on paper; make some marks and rekindle my voice.
At the same time, the Women Painters of Washington is organizing a show to mark the organization’s 90th year anniversary. We are to pay tribute to the past 90 years of women’s history.
This piece is the “sister” piece to one I posted earlier titled “Those Who Came Before Me.” This one, titled “Tribute,” is a continuation of that theme. I feel gratitude towards women artists who came before me (Georgia O’Keeffe, Helen Frankenthaler, Emily Mason and Joan Konkel).
The gentle curves in this piece are found in several places in my life: sailboat sails, bird’s wings, tulip petals, etc. These gentle curves seem to be a part of the “saying things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way.” The color palette is calming and hopeful.
38x30 inches, light-fast colored pencil on museum board
The color palette represents water, reflections, mist, fog, gray and blue skies – all found during the winter months. The long narrow shape represents several things: When I row out to check the crab pot I am looking back at the wake and path I leave in the water. When looking across a body of water, there are reflections coming back at me – as linear shapes across the water. And when I am up in one of the tall buildings in the city, I can look at the water as a narrow slice between buildings. The strokes are suggestions of movements, currents, wind and rain.
Light-fast (non-fading) colored pencil on Museum Board (archival mat board). All materials are archival.
38 inches high by 30 inches wide.
Materials: Light-fast (non-fading) colored pencil on Museum Board (archival mat board) mounted with more mat board, backing, and a frame for hanging. All materials are archival.
38 inches high by 30 inches wide (This piece has sold.)
I belong to the “Women Painters of Washington” which is celebrating its 90th year in 2020. This piece is a reflection on all that has transpired over the organization’s 90-year history.
I have been influenced by many women artists who have paved the way and inspired me. The most famous would be Georgia O’Keeffe for her abstractions and Helen Frankenthaler for her color field paintings. I am also inspired by Emily Mason’s use of color and Joan Konkel’s inventive use of materials. There are many others.
This piece “rolls it all into one” for me. Various parts of the composition pay tribute to those who came before me. I am indebted to their strong voices and tenacity.
This series was inspired by the plateau ranges of eastern Washington Sate. I have an affinity for those open spaces. Sometimes there is a haze in the air that eliminates a definite horizon line. Everything can be a little “fuzzy.” As you can see, this series has fragmented horizon lines representing the landscape.
“Terrain” Colored pencil on paper, 22 x 30 inches Inspired by the extremes in Washington State’s landscapes.
“Rimland” Colored pencil on paper, 18 x 24 inches Inspired by the high plateaus of eastern Washington State.
colored pencil on paper, 32 x 40 inches
The story of this piece really begins at Leo Adams’ house in Yakima, Washington. I need to pay tribute. Leo Adams lives a rich life as an artist, and he inspires artists in his community. I am one of them. I belong to the organization Northwest Designer Craftsmen, and Leo has graciously opened his home to our group several times. I always leave inspired and impressed. Marquand Books published a book about Leo and his unique home called “Leo Adams Art Home.” Read about Leo here.
On a recent visit I was taken by a piece in his home. It looked like a two-panel Rothko painting. Upon inspection I realized it was two pieces of sheet metal with their own long untold history of paint and rust. I was immediately inspired with a vision in my mind of a two-panel piece with shaped edges. I couldn’t wait to get back to my studio. I needed to experiment. I opted to draw on museum board - a type of mat board that is thick and archival.
My first version was a prototype. I had to figure out some problematic material issues. My friend Deborah has that one hanging in her house. This one is “Blue Two” because it is the second piece after learning from the first.
This is drawn on 4-ply museum board, but it still was not thick enough. After trimming the edges into the desired shape, I used museum glue to adhere another 4-ply sheet of museum board to the back. After trimming those edges to match, I painted the edges to match the piece. Then, they each were mounted for hanging. I had fun figuring out how to create this vision into reality, and it has started me on a new direction in my work.
I fully attribute my inspiration to Leo Adams. As a person, he is inspiring. He has influenced many people in his life. He has no idea how many - including me.
(This piece has sold.)
Back to top
“Blue Two” Colored pencil on museum board, two panels. Overall size 60 inches wide by 40 inches tall
“Leo Adams Art Home” was published by Marquand Books