Always in the Background

This piece and the writing were published in Down in the Dirt magazine.

There is a constant chaos in the background of my mind as the beginning of the school year approaches. All the colors and shades of not knowing what is next, of fear, of not being seen and heard. I keep myself busy with painting, reading, writing, exercising, playing piano, dancing, cooking, eating, sleeping, talking with friends, laughing, crying...and the background of my mind seeps into all of it. Sometimes big and sometimes small, but always present.

"Always in the Background"

Image description: a woman's face ghostly painted over an abstract, chaotic background. Her eyes are green.

Mixed Media

20"x16" on watercolor paper

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

Smile

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,

but sometimes, your smile can be the source of your joy."

-Thich Nhat Hanh

This piece started as a list of gratitudes, then a palette for painting another piece, then a piece that I worked on during a writing workshop. Today a smiling fella appeared. I think it's just what I needed to see today. Perhaps it's what you need to see, too.

"Smile"

Mixed Media

20"x16" on canvas paper

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

A Girl Can Dream

This is my second piece from Jenny Doh's class. 

I started looking for a quote to go with this painting but my mind is occupied with thoughts of

wishing we still had Barack Obama as President and Ann Richards as Governor. 

Things would be so different.

"A Girl Can Dream"

Acrylic

16"x12" on canvas paper

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

Happiness

This is a commissioned piece and I'm so grateful that I was able to create what I consider to be happiness in canvas form. And it's three feet by four feet...that's a whole lot of happiness.

Acrylic

SOLD

3'x4'" on canvas

Prints available on request.

(Printed image may be slightly cropped for printing purposes.)

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

Recommit to the Work that Remains Undone

With respect and celebration I'd like to pair this quote with a painting I completed today.

"Juneteenth is a time to recommit ourselves to the work that remains undone. 
We remember that even in the darkest hours, there is cause to hope for tomorrow's light."

-President Barack Obama

Mixed Media

Original available for $85.

16"x12" on paper

Prints available on request.

(Printed image may be slightly cropped for printing purposes.)

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

All Things Change

I'm taking an art class from Jenny Doh, whom I've long admired. This is my first piece from her class.

And I read a quote today in a book I'm reading for a book study that I'd like to share. 

"In a true dialogue, both sides are willing to change. We have to appreciate that truth can be received from outside of - not only within - our own group...We have to believe that by engaging in dialogue with another person, we have the possibility of making a change within ourselves, that we can become deeper."

-Thich Nhat Hanh

The author, bell hooks, used the quote in the preface to her book "Teaching Community, A Pedagogy of Hope".

"All Things Change"

Acrylic

12"x9" on canvas

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.

PRIDE

Love is love.

Mixed Media

Original available for $45.

12"x16" on paper

Prints available on request.

(Printed image may be slightly cropped for printing purposes.)

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

  I welcome commissions.

Please click the links below to share my blog.