In Life and Death, Encaustic, India Ink, and Gold Leaf on Cradled Panel,
20" x 20" x 1.5" framed (shown at Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, NY)
The idea for this painting originated from the death of a bird. I found a beautiful barn swallow dead on my porch. It intrigued me to paint it juxtaposed with a live bird, a loose string floating between them, connecting them. The scene encapsulates the tension between life and death in a metaphysical space of accreted encaustic paint and encrusted India ink.
It makes me think of the infinite number of lives that a single bird or human can touch, and reminds me of the sadness of death, those I have lost, and that one day I will become one of the lost ones. The painting's emotional content and narrative power explore the fear of death, grief, and the ability to survive and move on as time pushes on.
Alchemical Bird - Woodpecker I,
Encaustic, India, and Oil Pastel on Cradled Panel
5" x 3" (Shown at Claremont Artisans Collective -
Private Collection)
Inspired by my visit to the Taft Gardens and Nature Preserve in Ojai, California & Lake Piru in Piru, California.
Alchemical Bird - Woodpecker II,
Encaustic, India, and Oil Pastel on Cradled Panel
3" x 5" (Shown at Claremont Artisans Collective -
Private Collection - Private Collection)
Inspired by my visit to the Taft Gardens and Nature Preserve in Ojai, California & Lake Piru in Piru, California.
Alchemical Bird - Woodpecker III,
Encaustic, India, and Oil Pastel on Cradled Panel
5" x 3" (Shown at Claremont Artisans Collective -
Private Collection - Private Collection)
Inspired by my visit to the Taft Gardens and Nature Preserve in Ojai, California & Lake Piru in Piru, California.
