art process

Why I Paint

I could feel the withering of a parched spirit. Aching to reach into the abstract, into the transcendent. To stretch with all my might and drink of the invisible. As of Sunday afternoon, it was my longest break from painting in more than a year. During the previous few weeks, the tactile world around me…Read more Why I Paint

Painting a Prayer

I’ll be honest. Prayer is often difficult for me, at least as prayer is traditionally defined – sitting or kneeling and talking to God. A couple main reasons: I am a person of few spoken words, and it’s hard for me to sit still. When I was in my early 20’s, I passed through turbulent waters.…Read more Painting a Prayer

See You – Progression of a Piece

  Before dawn, in the crisp cold air of an old house still thinking about firing up the furnace, I creep past sleeping lumps of my children and up the stairs. My friend and I smile greetings, unwilling to disturb with unnecessary words a quiet that feels somehow reverent. Large cups of coffee cradled in…Read more See You – Progression of a Piece

Painting a Place Beyond

I discovered this week that writing about the American/Vietnam War stirred up a torrent of scary emotions. I often “think” in feelings, not words or even images, but currents of emotional energy. After I wrote certain phrases, they tossed around in my head like a bare branch in the wind. Then, as I reflected further,…Read more Painting a Place Beyond

My Truce With the City

Turning down the obscure alley on my way to Modbo and S.P.Q.R., twin galleries in downtown Colorado Springs, my memories slip to another time and place. I see a much younger version of myself, laughing with friends in a city-scape of clanging metal, hissing manholes, and steam curling into clouds. At first, I skidded into the city like…Read more My Truce With the City

Progression of a piece – Songs in the Dark

There is an idyllic perception of the artist, wiling away hours in beauty and serenity. Paint streams from garden paths of the mind. Birds sing, sun shines - effortless flow. Perhaps this is the experience of some creatives. It is not a familiar space to me. Almost every piece I begin thrusts me onto a precipice…Read more Progression of a piece – Songs in the Dark

Why I Make Art

I am wired to connect with people. Although I measure about as strong on the introvert scale as possible, I am an introvert who loves people. I need to connect with others in order to thrive. For many years of my life, I felt torn between these two seemingly contradictory compulsions. I crave hours of…Read more Why I Make Art

Am I an Artist?

Last night I faced the question I mostly dread these days. Sitting around the table at a fancy event with well-meaning, newly-met acquaintances, they asked innocently: “So what do you do?” I felt that moment of uncertainty, tinged with panic. A simple question, expressed with genuine interest. In America, we commonly inquire about a person’s…Read more Am I an Artist?

Summer Will Come

Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m enamored with a single dying weed. So far, it has inspired five paintings in as many months! Click the following links to view the paintings in their original blog entries: (left to right) Songs in the Valley, Reach, Always, Loving You Still. There’s something about it – the pathos as it…Read more Summer Will Come

Touch the Sky – Tree Parables

When my soul is lost and storm-tossed, there is a sacred space I love to go and pray. Amidst towering pines in the heart of Black Forest, I trace a pine needle-carpeted labyrinth to the center. Scent of sap and earth, breezes sifting treetops, glaze of sun on my face, peace settles silky like layers…Read more Touch the Sky – Tree Parables