Turning 58 and my energy is the best ever. I’ve really loved being in my 50s, they will go down in my life book as one of my very favorite decades. There is so much on the horizon for my new trip around the sun that I look forward to digging into. One in particular is a new series of large prints I’ve been meaning to get to over the last two years.

The wind down from Summer has now arrived and with it, a feeling of recharge and looking forward to cooler temps. I’m one of those oddballs who looks forward to stormy rainy days. Here in the Pacific Northwest, you can smell the rainy season coming into the air during September and October. There’s a certain motivation and set of rituals that the rainy season here brings. You can choose to be sad about the gray weather here or choose to see the beauty, colors, and comforts of home that beckon your inspiration. One of my favorite quotes that sits on my fridge is by Horace — “Rule your mind or it will rule you”. Everything in life and in creativity itself is a series of decisions and choices.

Relocating from Portland, Oregon to Astoria, Oregon on the North Coast where the force of the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean has been a big life change. Admittedly, I love the storminess of this part of the state and my work often references meteorology, climate, and geology. I can watch the storms land ashore from the constant horizon line surrounding me. Observing weather patterns and the greater connection to wild nature aligns with my creative practice, inviting me to focus. Now, as Winter makes way for Spring, the recent solar eclipse has ignited a surge of creativity that will catapult me to the completion of these twenty new works for my upcoming exhibition.

These days I am more selective about how often I take time away from my studio practice to teach, but it important to me that I continue to share the love of this ancient painting technique with the world. Teaching encaustic painting is a unique and rewarding experience that allows me to share me passion and knowledge with others. Encaustic offers a plethora of creative possibilities.

In this blog, I’ll delve into the challenges and rewards that come with teaching encaustic painting, and how it can transform both the teacher and the students.

I have no idea what to expect, my first open studio in my new hometown, the north coast town of Astoria… The herculean Winter marathon of settling into my new studio has ended just in time for Summer. In the infancy of creating in a new space, it feels good. My groove, rituals and daily structures are all falling into place. Not counting the many breakfast nooks of Northwest Portland apartments in my formative years and the significant creative development that took place in Studio 211 where Mark Rothko attended elementary school, this is technically my fourth working studio. My first, 1993-1996 was in a storefront…

As an abstract artist, I am always on the lookout for inspiration and new experiences to fuel my creativity. That searching has largely included travel which is something I have made a priority and that I value to feed and nourish my creative well as I push ever forth with my work. My art has changed and evolved alongside each new place and experience. Surprisingly, Houston, Texas has been my secret muse for over three decades. Since the 1980s, Houston has been my second home town, thanks to my sister and parents who relocated there. But it wasn't until my first visit to Houston from Oregon that I realized how much the city had to offer in terms of culture, art, food, and parks.

“The unifying theme in this body of work quite literally is transitions. I am excited to see how being in a new place that offers a constant view of the horizon combined with significant movement of constellations will inform the work. This series of 20 pieces, each 14” x 11”, represents both past and present, and in hindsight, they represent the 20 years of creating in my previous studio.”