Yes, all work and no play makes my eyes fall out of my head. An antidote to obsessive detail work is the great outdoors! So while my abalone painting may not be conforming to my dreamed up schedule, my body and soul is much happier with a well deserved break! All of that enthusiasm for life …
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Some babies were born in my garden today. I guess mantises like 90 degree weather! They were pretty adorable, each one no bigger than my finger tip. Soon they will become giant, voracious monsters gobbling up the aphids and cucumber beetles that munch on my roses and dahlias.
Forget-me-nots are on their way out in the Valley of Hearts Delight but in full bloom up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. As I navigated the twists and turns of Summit Road, past an endless parade of classic cars on their Easter Weekend joy ride through the redwoods, I kept running into blue swaths of them. Forget-me-nots are not native to California but are at least only minimally invasive. Not …
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I need little excuse to slip on my red rubber boots, pop open my bubble umbrella to slosh about to see how the world is transformed by a good down pour in our drought stricken state! Well, my world turned out to be very small today – I did make it to the studio of course and I love the way it looks so cozy there waiting for me. …
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photo – Cooper Bates How I love spring – it’s the miracle of all that dormant life bursting out of the dark and damp with such delicacy and pure beauty – it stuns me. A perfect milieu for a walk’n talk with Nilofer Merchant as we share budding new ideas. Our areas of expertise are quite different, Nilofer the business innovator, author and speaker and me the visual artist and …
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The butterfly counts not months but moments and has time enough. – Tagore We’re so lucky to be close to Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz where Monarchs overwinter. They arrive in October and stick around until February, nestled among sheltered coastal groves of eucalyptus. Look closely, this vine is loaded with HUNDREDS of Monarchs. On a cold day they will huddle together in masses with their wings closed …
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Dahlia Days may be half a year away but today I was able apply the finishing touches to a portrait whose lovely expression remained elusive for so long!
Started work on my 1930’s folding chair today! I’m painting this chair as part of a joint fundraiser for the Pacific Art League and the Woman’s Club of Palo Alto. There will be a gala fundraiser in March where some 100 chairs all painted by different artists will be auctioned off. So far my favorite part was adding real rose branches to the legs and stretchers of the chair. I love …
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Oh how I love a winter landscape, the branches heavily laden with snow, ice crystals sparkling in the sun! Kirkwood has been such a winter wonderland in the past but not over New Year’s. Some slopes were open but I’m really more of a cross-country girl and I didn’t relish the thought of dodging all the dog poop to line up enough patches of the slushy white stuff to make …
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It’s so good to pause and look at the year in review! Here, at a glance, (and off the top of my head) are the paintings that have gone on to Private Collections in 2013. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who believe in my work!
You know a painting has truly become part of a new home when all the members of the family come to appreciate it. Well, the horses, dogs and birds may not have an opinion about my Bed of Ghosts as of yet but Zinky clearly has good taste. Thanks for sharing Audrey!
Fall brings fog. Well at least until the sun burns it off, and that’s barely enough time to change out of pajamas and grab the camera. But the hustle is worth it because the fog cloaks everything in a different light and seeing things differently is what it’s all about. Minutes later the fog is gone – like a ghost.
Today the creator of gummi bears, Hans Riegel has passed away. I thought I’d shoot a tribute – then eat it!
Nilofer Merchant, author, speaker and a Silicon Valley dynamo purchased a little assemblage painting from me last year. Bliss has hung in her office across from her desk as a reminder that happiness is not all rainbows and kittens but has an edge to it too, and maybe in the end it means more if you have to work for it. But she spoke more eloquently about this when she …
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Open a door and nature will follow. My studio overlooks a beautiful ravine and while I love living close to nature I also love my roses so I have a jasmine covered fence which keeps the “wilderness” both in view and at bay. This way I can watch the deer take afternoon naps as I work or I can watch them romping past in the evening. Occasionally I’m careless and …
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So, I fell in love with another dress! This time it’s a Spanish number by Casita de Wendy. It not only captures some of the joy and mystery of the botanical world (on a flattering black background) but also makes a whimsical, fairylike nod and wink to the work of Hieronymous Bosch and the little hands and feet reaching out of the flowers remind me of the work I’ve been …
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Cynthia Sandberg, proprietor of Love Apple Farms hosted a fabulous Eco-Feast benefitting the Museums of Los Gatos last night and I can only hope it will become an annual affair! This amazing biodynamic farm nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains on a piece of terraced land (formerly developed for grapevines and run by the Smothers Brothers back in the eighties) is the kitchen garden for David Kinch’s Manresa (two star Michelin …
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Old graveyards have a peaceful dignity and grace. Long removed from recent grief and sadness, they stand worn with lichen and time, bearing long lost loved one’s names, wife of so and so, son of such and such. Old names too, that have so long gone out of fashion that they seem to be from another word. It was another world. These cemeteries tell stories of a community, of tenderness …
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I love the idea of terrariums, miniature gardens under glass that can be so magical and whimsical, like little worlds unto themselves. On the weekend I was messing around with materials that I had lying about the studio, bits of broken pottery too full of potential to throw away, parts of antique porcelain dolls that had been unearthed from the reject dumps of the doll factories of Thuringia, Germany (c.1850 …
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You never know what you’ll find at an estate sale, especially one of an artist. It’s fascinating to see how artists lived and worked and what they’ve left behind, objects too curious or inspiring to throw out, books they’ve read, souvenirs from trips they took, art left unfinished or unclaimed. It’s actually very comforting when I see the tell tale signs of a life filled with inspiration, travel and engaging work. Objects …
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