Time changed. It disappeared. Time went away. There isn't as much time as there used to be. I don't know, its magical, and kind of mystical. What happened to time? Everybody's always looking at a watch and saying, 'I gotta go! Gotta go!' It's all those time saving devices that are using up all the time. Somewhere, a lot of time is being saved and stashed away, for other people.-Herb Caen, quoted by Mark Powelson, "Citizen Caen", San Francisco Focus
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This photo was taken on a boat ride going down the Mississippi River during Mardis Gras. After enjoying the festivities, I parted with friends then travelled alone up the east coast to reunite with my father. Next, on to New York to rendezvous with another friend who in dim lit fern bars reminded me of Bogie. I bought him a fedora and we took a horse and carriage ride through Central Park with a bottle of champagne. After a few days, I waved goodbye to him in his fedora from aboard the SS Leonardo da Vinci docked in New York harbor. This grand ship would be the last Italian ocean liner to cross the North Atlantic. David Bowie was on board and I met Elizabeth Rightor who encouraged me to apply to the Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing in Aix-en-Provence http://labellelettre.blogspot.com/2012/01/still-life-of-fruit-bowl.html Later, I visited Le Mas Theotime, her home in Lourmarin, a provencal village located in the Vaucluse. The voyage on the SS Leonardo da Vinci took seven days from New York City to Naples, Italy. Being served three meals a day by handsome Italian waiters was a great way to begin the next year and a half of my first European adventure!
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Finding My Way Back to Painting and Drawing
In 1998, I was visiting mother who had returned to Cathlamet after living an expatriate's life in the Loire Valley for ten years. One day in the mail I received my portfolio from 1976 when I attended the Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing in Aix-en-Provence. That first body of work of mine had been in storage in a Boston basement for two decades. Looking through this mildewy assortment of oil paintings, charcoal sketches of nude models, and Mont Saint-Victoire watercolor landscapes was the best gift I could have received at the time. It re-ignited my passion for painting and drawing that had been dormant for twenty years as I supported myself with a myriad of jobs while working on writing/photography projects whenever possible.
Life as Art
Following are jobs I had (not in order); writer, editor, art gallery sales and exhibitor, video production assistant, corporate website content manager and technical product developer, interviewer, sales clerk, commercial real estate loan processor, volunteer (Streetside Stories, Room to Read, Missoula Children's Theatre, BayKids MovieMakers Program, ArtSpan, Eldergivers: Art with Elders, International Rescue Committee, American Red Cross, Project Homeless Connect, SFMOMA Development, Steppingstone Adult Day Health, Arthritis Foundation, American Cancer Society Reach to Recovery, SF Village), pet sitter, client services representative, volunteer coordinator, file clerk, supervisor, event ambassador, xylophone player, flea market vendor, sandwich maker, barista, babysitter, hostess, waitress, dishwasher/buser/grape leaf stuffer (In 1972, I lived in Manhattan Beach,CA for a year in between WSU and CAL Berkeley. I remember dropping a tray full of cups and saucers at this intimate, outdoor cafe in Beverly Glen Canyon. The manager, my boyfriend, had gotten me the job washing dishes, busing tables, and stuffing grape leaves to make ends meet. Then, I caused a loud, crashing mess of an accident and as a few croissant chomping customers applauded I quickly retreated to the kitchen to stuff more grape leaves), executive assistant to ceo's, presidents, vp's, litigation/corporate attorneys, commodities brokers, directors of finance, health care, marketing, advertising, communications, and humanities. I was also a curator, executor, caregiver, property manager, biographer, medical transcriptionist, office manager, receptionist, hospital media coordinator, event planner, photojournalist, development associate, social justice advocate, lingerie model, and librarian.
- Leonardo da Vinci
A SELECTION OF ABSTRACT PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS
FROM THE LAST DECADE
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Succession of the Elements Mixed Media on Canvas, 2014  |
Watercolor and Graphite on Paper, 2014
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Mischievous Interludes Acrylic on Canvas, 2013 |
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Complicated Relations Graphite and Crayon on Paper, 2013 |
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Spontaneous Cacti Couplings Graphite and Crayon on Paper, 2013 |
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Camouflaged Intentions Graphite and Crayon on Paper, 2013 |
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The Man in the Yellow Boat
Acrylic on Canvas, 2013
 Fluid Acrylic on Paper, 2010 |
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Rhythm of the Universe Series: Jazz Session in Outer Space Mixed Media on Paper, 2010 |
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Calm Before the Storm Mixed Media on Canvas, 2013 |
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Pier off Emerald Cove Graphite and Crayon on Paper, 2012 |
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Celebration of Life Graphite and Crayon on Paper, 2012 |
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Rhythm of the Universe Series: Night Swimmer Fluid Acrylic and Pen on Paper, 2010 |
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Rhythm of the Universe Series: Broken Links Mixed Media on Paper, 2010 |
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Rhythm of the Universe Series:Web of Desire Mixed Media on Paper, 2010 |
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Rhythm of the Universe Series:Gravity Tango Fluid Acrylic and Pen on Paper, 2010 |
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Abstract Paintings and Drawings 2006-2010: Red Triangle Breaking Away Mixed Media on Paper, 2010 |
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Abstract Paintings and Drawings 2006-2010: Falling Kite Watercolor and Pen on Paper, 2010 |
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Abstract Paintings and Drawings 2006-2010: Celestial Harmony Fluid Acrylic on Canvas, 2008 |
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Rhythm of the Universe Series:Hurricane Mixed Media on Paper, 2010 |
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Abstract Paintings and Drawings 2006-2010: Cacophony Mixed Media on Canvas, 2007 |
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Abstract Paintings and Drawings 2006-2010: Seven Moons over the Leonardo Watercolor and Graphite on Paper, 2010 |
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Mystic Gardens, Ciphers, and Shapeshifters Series (www.artslant.com) Chain Reaction Graphite and Crayon on Paper, 2012
I grew up in Cathlamet, Washington on the Columbia River where there were no strip malls, condos, movie theatres, art museums or galleries. It was in this rural enviroment of natural beauty and wide open spaces that I began to develop my artistic skills.
In 2001, while working in the corporate world as a web content manager and technical product developer, I started painting and drawing again. In 2002, I was accepted into the MFA Painting Program at the San Francisco Art Institute.http://labellelettre.blogspot.com/2011/10/augury.html I was fortunate to have a Directed Study with Christopher Brown who emphasized the importance of developing good drawing skills.
Other artists who have inspired me are Wassily Kandinsky, Arshile Gorky, Alexander Calder, Joan Miro, Louise Bourgeois, Joan Brown, Paul Klee, Alice Neel, Cy Twombly, R.B. Kitaj and Terry Winters.
Figurative Paintings and Drawings 2011-2012
Figurative Paintings and Drawings 2009
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