About

I have been reluctant to talk about my art, my process, or myself. I have for years now, wished for the art to speak for itself. I don't regret having done that, but I realize that in every situation, I am asked to talk about my art, so I might as well describe it here. I intend to eventually replace this site, with a better one. That process is taking longer than I would have thought.

I was an introverted only-child who read, wrote, and drew in my room because there was one giant television in the living room that always had sports on, and the internet was not a thing yet. I played, I rode my bike, I did have friends, but I spent a lot of leisure time drawing photos from encyclopedias and National Geographics, while listening to music on the reel-to-reel tape deck. I took art classes in High School all four years, and went on to be hobby painter for many years, while having other adventures.

One of those adventures was the birth of my daughter, Delaney. She is on the spectrum, ASD. From the very moment of her birth she was loud, defiant. I really don't know how else to say it, but I was not able to develop a career. It takes a while to understand this special person. She is sensitive and explosive. I was not able to work outside the home.

So I painted. And read books. And read books about painting, and painted more. 

Mechanical Embryo 25" x  48" Acrylic

Mechanical Embryo is a painting I worked on for about ten years, while learning to paint. It started as  just the blank face of my toddler, and a crumpled piece of paper. It began out of my grief. Layers of my experience were incorporated into this painting. The embryonic metal filigree slowly changes to become organic. It's the process of teaching a little person who does not naturally want to learn. The electricity emanating from such an intelligent, and very individualistic person can be seen emanating from around her head. The fragile rose heart sits in the rigid cold frame of a beginning life.

And this: 

Bee Girl 16" x 20" Acrylic

I painted Bee Girl when Delaney was in High School. She is caught in a repeating matrix, like a prison. The sun is shining into her half-closed eyes. The giant bee on her head, buzzing her brain, is not noticeable at first. It blends into the background, but once you see it, it holds on, buzzing and buzzing. 

Adolescent Scream 16" x 20" 

Adolescent scream was about Delaney wanting to be adult, yearning for something she didn't even understand, and believing she could never have it. Delaney is prone to screaming at the top of her lungs. Many days were just filled with screaming. There were times I barely left the house for weeks. So, I painted.

16" x 12" Oil

I had moved to oil when I painted this. It isn't titled, or signed. It was just sort of a practice piece. Delaney had grown up, and had moved first into a care home, and then to an independent living situation. She is in her mid-twenties, and is slowly finding herself. She still screams sometimes but it is much less intense and prolonged than it was. This painting came from a time when she briefly lived with us again between placements. This painting is just showing her swelling and overflowing of all kinds of emotions, and the destructive nature that they can show.

Delaney and I have been through an awful lot together. A lot of pain, but also a lot of laughter. She plays piano, has perfect pitch. She takes care of her apartment, and she has people in her life who love her. She doesn't mind that I write about her. She thinks some of these paintings are romantic. 

So Delaney is a big reason that I worked this muscle. I have always loved art. I've haunted art museums, taken workshops, read a mountain of books on making art, interpreting art, art history, and art people. I have been showing locally for about ten years. The lesson of Delaney is consistency. She has taught me to do things over and over and over. She has taught me to be patient. To watch and to listen. She has taught me to see beyond. She has taught me to keep going, doing hard things, and to be myself. Best art teacher ever. Hey, maybe that's the name of painting.