Beulah was surprised when the egg popped.

This series is based on a visual pun. I had an art professor who always said, "the hand of the artist should be seen in the artwork."

I use stuffed animal scenarios to play around with this idea. I have a number of these stuffed animals and all are named for friends and relatives.

The works are captioned rather than titled. I enjoy the tight, detailed painting. An acrylic on canvas painting, 22"x28" (56x71cm). I have a number of these paintings and will show and talk about them in the future.

My Ram at the Tram

In early 2004, the late Sidney Sheldon and his wife, Alexandra spearheaded a nature conservancy program for the Santa Rosa Mountains indigenous Bighorn sheep. As a combination publicity and fund raising effort, an artist was commissioned for a basic, life sized sculpture of the Bighorn sheep.

The Bighorn Institute was established. The ram figures would be placed throughout the Coachella Valley and noted as "The Path of the Bighorn".

Local artists were asked to submit designs as well as a number of celebrities. Upon design acceptance, the white, primed ram figure was delivered to the artist for painting. The figure is more than 6' high. I used my best acrylic paints. It took a little more than 3 weeks to finish painting the figure. Three coats of a special UV protection varnish was applied over the painted figure. The title of my ram is "Palm Springs Night".

Donors to the project "purchased" the ram of their choice and arranged for placement. Some were in public buildings, malls, libraries, banks, theaters, etc. My ram is placed outside the lobby and boarding area of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. This is a major tourist attraction and I was delighted to have my ram in such a prominent place.

The Sheldon's also underwrote the publication of a book of all the painted rams, "Path of the Bighorn" and sent copies to each artist. It is special to be part of this public art program.

Cecily & Gwendolyn (original paintings)

In the spring of 2007, I saw a large gallery show, then a major Dali retrospective at the Los Angeles County Art Museum. I had been adrift in my painting for awhile and the combination fantasy and surreal images turned me to a new direction. I spent some months rehoning the skills of detailed painting and looking for a central character to anchor the ideas that I was sketching. All the ideas were narrative and surreal.

Then in September my oldest sister died. I had a special relationship to her. Several days after her death, the two dinosaur like characters came to me. I considered naming them for us. Then I realized this series would be successful only if I stepped away a bit. I renamed the characters Cecily and Gwendolyn. [Cecily and Gwendolyn are characters from an Oscar Wilde play.] Cecily (red) is for my sister. Gwendolyn is blue and has a hole in her heart forever.

There are to date, 18 paintings in this series. All are acrylic on panel, framed, and range in size from 8"x10" to 16"x20. They are narrative and very detailed. All 18 were shown at one time at the Desert Pride Center last Nov-Dec. Several have since sold. They can be viewed on my website.

Everything has a beginning

I have made alot of art: drawing, painting, printmaking, bronze casting, paper sculpture, paper mosaic. I have read much about art: biographies of artists, art history, art theory, color theory, philosophy and esthetics.

This will be a show and tell blog. I will show and discuss my work. I will share interesting and quirky facts about artists and art movements.

From much experience I will pass on tips and techniques and other practical information about art, shows, and being out there.