Spiral Galaxy Series
The Spiral Galaxy Series is painted after a visit to the Smithsonian Institute Planetarium in Washington, D.C. The vivid, gouache colors and abstract shapes express the excitement I experience at seeing the stellar stream of the Milky Way and a variety of stars and planets.
The application of the opaque watercolor causes some blotches that have no place in traditional watercolor. I choose to push the blotch into the pool. The flow and pooling of paint become part of the happening.
Supernova Series
My grandson, Mason, and I visited the planetarium at The Cleveland Natural History Museum six times in one summer. The exploding Supernovas filled the dark expanse with clusters of stars in blues and reds. These paintings emerged from viewing them.
Paintings for Cleveland Hearing and Speech
When Cleveland Hearing and Speech is preparing to enter and dedicate their new building at 117th and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio, I am honored to be one of their clients and to paint the first three works of art in their beautiful new facility.
Sonic Splendor represents the pathway of sound through the ear. This imagined pattern is repeated throughout the painting and superimposed upon the bony labyrinth. The three bones of the ear move around the central form as accents of intense color. The vibrant oranges and yellows of the dawn and the healing greens offer hope for better hearing.
Freedom, Empowerment, Respect is a butterfly spreading its wings, with these words expressed in American Sign Language. My goal in this painting is to reflect the aspirations of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community. Complementary hues of blues and oranges are used to offer harmony and peace to all who enter this department, with exuberant rainbow colors in the letters.
The vocal chords and the lungs are essential components in the formation of speech. In Voice Blossom these are transformed into a blossoming flower, with the colors of spring. This blossoming occurs in the speech therapy clients at CHSC.
Nature Paintings
Impressions of waves, birds, and flowers offer sensations of light-hearted happiness, surrounded by warm oranges and cool violets in this Enchanted Garden.
Orchidmania is a wonderful event each February at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. I have developed such an appreciation for orchids because of that, and our travels. The abtracted orchids in these small paintings are dancing, with layers of paint, glaze, and color.
