Collage and paint on paper inspired by a trip to the Smoky Mountains. I grew up visiting this region and it holds a very special and magical place in my heart. I love the dense, sun-dappled lushness of the forests.

Ink, watercolor, and collage on paper. I love everything about trees, after reading Richard Powers' book The Overstory, I consider them in a new and more expansive way. Culturally trees carry so much symbolism: family tree, Tree of Life, putting down roots, etc. There's something sacred about an old growth tree. This piece started with the vintage collage clip of the couple and the boat. I liked the symbolism of them embarking on a journey on the river. I expanded the tree and landscape, adding a bit of magic with the moon and the cat playing a fiddle in a whimsical nod to the childhood rhyme.

Acrylic and collage on canvas. The landscape in this painting is inspired by my memories and photos of a trip I took almost 30 years ago to Glacier National Park and a hike up to Grinnell Glacier. Even then, the glaciers were beginning to receded at an accelerated pace, and I often wonder how small they must be now. The beautiful blue of the glacier pools is astonishing. I began this with blue collage paper for color and texture and incorporated the Classical Sculpture of male and female. The sculpture of the woman holds a vase from which the water seems to pour, and the sculpture of the man is murky as if under the water, like some long lost civilization. I'm interested in ancient history so this alludes to the cycles of culture and civilization, but also I'm thinking about the patriarchal history of the last several thousand years and wondering what else there might be.

Pastel, Gouache, and Collage on paper. This is inspired by aerial photos when flying over the Llano Uplift region of Texas. This ancient geological feature has a rich history. I love the textures and colors of aerial imagery (as seen in my Overview portfolio), and this image was especially lovely with the clouds and the light beams, bringing to mind something sacred. I incorporated the vintage imagery of the woman and flowers, thinking of an iconic image of Mary. I think it's so interesting how many cultures replaced female goddesses with Mary when converting to Christianity and kept an aspect of feminine power. The Christianity I grew up with was very masculine. Mary was the mother- respected but not powerful, and Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. I'm interested in that feminine energy.

Oil and collage on panel. This painting began with a memory of a large, old, dead tree that lay in the field next to my childhood home. It was a magical place for me to play. I combined the poignancy of that memory with images of trees I took from a trip to the Grand Canyon as a young adult, and I collaged in images from vintage postcards and advertisements, along with a cut-up brochure from a more recent visit to Bandelier National Monument with a dear childhood friend. The tree feels important to me, to my formation and development. It was a place where my imagination first rooted, and it seems like a touchstone for magic in my life now.

Oil and collage on panel. I found a black and white photo from a trip to South Carolina from when I was in my 20's and did film photography, and that's the starting point of this work. I love the mood from the misty atmosphere and humidity, and the way the trees seem to be reaching for one another. The entire painting is painted on a collaged road map of the southeast. 

Oil and collage on panel. This landscape is inspired by a visit to the Napali Coast in Kauai. Initially I was thinking about Pele as the goddess of volcanoes and fire. But as I worked on this, I ended up incorporating the reclined Classical female nude which is such a Western icon and stereotype of ideal beauty. I'm a child of Western culture, so I went with my instincts. I only realized much later that I'd used the pages from an old discarded copy of Plato's Republic to collage the walls of the cave. I'd studied Plato's Cave in high school, but this synchronicity was completely unplanned. I was absolutely delighted by it. This work became deeper than I expected, addressing my thoughts about feminine and masculine power but also the nature of reality and illusion.

Oil on canvas, framed. This little painting is inspired by hiking in the Smoky Mountains. I love the moment that you can see past the dense and lush trees and foliage of the woods out across the mountains. It's a breathtaking and liminal experience for me, creating light portals in the forest. I was also playing with using an intensely colored under color - deep blue here. The color pops out in little spots here and there.

Oil on canvas, framed. Oil on canvas, framed. This little painting is inspired by hiking in the Smoky Mountains. I love the moment that you can see past the dense and lush trees and foliage of the woods out across the mountains. It's a breathtaking and liminal experience for me, creating light portals in the forest. I was also playing with using an intensely colored under color - bright blue here. The color pops out in little spots here and there.

Oil on Canvas. This painting is inspired by my childhood in Nashville, TN. and memories of hiking around Radnor Lake. Radnor Lake was originally a man-made reservoir built to service steam engines. When that was no longer needed, it was declared a wildlife sanctuary and eventually established as a state park. I love this strange and surprising history of a natural space reverting from something industrial to an important natural resource. Again, I frame this view so that we are looking from inside the lush trees out across the lovely lake, creating an archway.

Large watercolor on paper.

Ink and pencil on Vellum

Watercolor on paper

Watercolor and gouache on paper prepped with gold watercolor ground.

Pastel on black paper.

Oil on Canvas

Oil on Panel, 12" x 12"

Oil on Canvas

Collage and acrylic on panel.

Watercolor and collage on paper

Oil and collage on panel

Acrylic on panel