Current Events, Upcoming Shows and Other Exciting News
August 1, 2014
Hood River, Oregon:
I have a new website! I don't want to promise that I will update it religiously (as we can clearly see from this site, updating is not my strong suit). Oak Grove Press is my new business, and www.oregonoakgrovepress.com will be the home to my more design/education/commission related projects. If you are interested in my latest projects (illustrating books, painting shoes, teaching stop-motion animation, to name a few), please check it out! I'm still keeping this site around for my personal artwork, so keep
checking here periodically to see what thoughts are marinating in my sketchbook.
Hood River, Oregon:
I have a new website! I don't want to promise that I will update it religiously (as we can clearly see from this site, updating is not my strong suit). Oak Grove Press is my new business, and www.oregonoakgrovepress.com will be the home to my more design/education/commission related projects. If you are interested in my latest projects (illustrating books, painting shoes, teaching stop-motion animation, to name a few), please check it out! I'm still keeping this site around for my personal artwork, so keep
checking here periodically to see what thoughts are marinating in my sketchbook.
Portland, Oregon:
In other news, I was recently accepted into the Emerging Printmakers Residency through Print Arts Northwest! The residency is a year-long program of mentorship, based out of Portland, that works to match artists beginning their careers with artists who have been working professionally for quite a while. We have a wonderful, diverse cohort of printmakers. Together, we will have demos on different techniques, discussions about the weird business-y things that nobody ever tells you, and a few months of unlimited studio access. The year culminates in a group show (details TBA). I am honored and excited to be part of such an exciting group of people. I can't wait to show you all the prints that will arise from this opportunity!
Hood River, Oregon:
Last (but never least), is that I have finally begun working on a large painting again. As I mentioned in my last post, I've been going through a very long dry spell on the painting front. The last painting that I completed was "Bridging", and that took a year and a half just to finish.
It doesn't look like much at this point, but here is a sneak peak at the underpainting for my latest piece. When I begin a painting, I cover the entire panel with a neutral color that will serve as a base for the painting. I then take a rag and wipe out the highlights, and use a brush filled with base color to deepen the shadows. The end result is a monochromatic painted sketch of the final piece. So here it is! I have a long long way to go from this point, but the foundation is laid and I am steadily plugging along and bringing in colors, light, and darkness. It feels so good to be back.
May 15, 2013
Prayer flags at Panorama Point
From Bedford, Virginia to Hood River, Oregon:
I confess, I've been avoiding updating this site for a while. It isn't that I haven't thought about it; it is just that I haven't known what to say.
My mom died in August.
As much as I've wanted to create beautiful things and purge difficult emotions and let all of these pent up feelings out into the world, I haven't been able to. My creative side has been experiencing a blistering drought. For months I have sat with an open sketchbook, trying to pull the slightest thread of an image out of my brain and it just hasn't worked.
Instead, I've been teaching. I was accepted into the roster of artists for Columbia Gorge Arts in Education and they have been an amazing advocate in assisting me with various week-long teaching residencies throughout the Gorge. This year alone I have taught everything from kindergarten block printing to high school lithography. My students have been amazing and I have learned so much through working with them.
As the weather ripens, the remaining school hours dwindle and the days lengthen, I can feel my brain beginning to stretch its legs again. My sketchbook is quickly filling with ideas and inspirations and ways to wrangle this horrible beast named "grief." It feels so good to be back in my paint-splattered jumpsuit once more. Hopefully I will have new work of my own to add to this site in the near future, but for now my students' work will have to suffice.
I confess, I've been avoiding updating this site for a while. It isn't that I haven't thought about it; it is just that I haven't known what to say.
My mom died in August.
As much as I've wanted to create beautiful things and purge difficult emotions and let all of these pent up feelings out into the world, I haven't been able to. My creative side has been experiencing a blistering drought. For months I have sat with an open sketchbook, trying to pull the slightest thread of an image out of my brain and it just hasn't worked.
Instead, I've been teaching. I was accepted into the roster of artists for Columbia Gorge Arts in Education and they have been an amazing advocate in assisting me with various week-long teaching residencies throughout the Gorge. This year alone I have taught everything from kindergarten block printing to high school lithography. My students have been amazing and I have learned so much through working with them.
As the weather ripens, the remaining school hours dwindle and the days lengthen, I can feel my brain beginning to stretch its legs again. My sketchbook is quickly filling with ideas and inspirations and ways to wrangle this horrible beast named "grief." It feels so good to be back in my paint-splattered jumpsuit once more. Hopefully I will have new work of my own to add to this site in the near future, but for now my students' work will have to suffice.
April 15, 2012
Hood River, Oregon:
Thank you to everyone who visited the Gorge Artists Open Studio Tour this year! I hope that everyone had a great time touring the various studios. I certainly enjoyed getting to spend time with each of you. For those of you who couldn't make it, check out the Portraits, Printmaking and Recent Work sections of my portfolio for some of the pieces you may have missed.
March 10, 2012
Bedford, Virginia:
The "Itsy-Bitsy Show in the Big Box" is on display in Art Upstairs at Bedford Hardware Store. I am thrilled to report that I have a few mezzotints and drawings amongst the fray of pint-size prints and paintings.