NPS AIR OMG

Yes, that actually means something!
I'll elaborate...

National Park Service + Artist in Residence = Oh My Gawd!

Something I have wanted. Something I have dreamed about. Something that seemed attainable but most likely out a few years... has happened: I have been selected as an Artist for the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Residency program, and I couldn't possibly be more proud or more excited.

JD Fossil Beds, as the locals call it, is in the high desert of Eastern-Central Oregon. When I began my search for a Residency opportunity I was immediately drawn to this park for its rich colorful topography, the geological diversity and its prehistoric significance. Let me go all Wikipedia for you...

"...the park is known for its well-preserved layers of fossil plants and mammals that lived in the region between the late Eocene, about 45 million years ago, and the late Miocene, about 5 million years ago. "

"...The (park) covers a total of 13,944 acres of semi-desert shrub-lands, riparian zones, and colorful badlands."

AMAZING, right?!

Now, LOOK at this place, of course I want to paint here!

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument brings together two of my first loves:  Painting and Geology. Only my family knows that there was a time when I considered studying Geology instead of Fine Art.  I was the little girl with the rock tumbler in her closet who was lulled to sleep by the sound of rolling rocks and swishing water.  My favorite book as a child was a large coffee table book called something like OUR EARTH, and I would spend hours throughout my childhood looking at the chapters on sediment, earth crust, layers of rocks, fossils and shifting plates. It was mesmerizing! But, instead I followed my love of color and composition and I became an artist - an artist who paints outdoors. 

Outdoors, I see rhythms and folds and stripes and angles. I love design in nature. John Day Fossil Beds has ribbons of colors, heavy folds on windblown outcroppings, vertical pillars of basalt and waves of blue volcanic ash hillsides. It is heavenly!

This Labor Day Weekend was a labor of love: I spent it running errands, packing up painting supplies, ensuring I had plenty of supports and panels for paintings... getting ready for this honor, this thrill, this Artist in Residence at one of our National Parks.

Hanging Local Artists...

That's part of the URL to the article that came out today about my painting at Starbucks ;)

Once again, the writer Mary Gottschalk has done an excellent job describing the situation, she always gets it right.  I so hate having official portraits and photos taken, and the lovely Jaqueline Ramseyer makes it so much easier. Thank you Jaqueline for choosing a good shot from all your options!

Here is the article:
http://www.mercurynews.com/willow-glen/ci_22189663/starbucks-san-joses-willow-glen-hangs-local-artists

Starbucks, progress!

Really enjoyed painting this new neighborhood piece for Starbucks!

I predominately paint in oils these days so the beginning of a new piece, in acrylic, is always a mind tickle. In oil you paint a certain way and in acrylic, it's just different. It dries fast for one thing. You don't get that creamy blending like you do in oil either. The colors dry differently than they look when they are wet, so there is always this balance and guessing and estimating what you will end up with!

I love painting with both though and the fact that acrylic does dry fast, is easy to clean, and can be layered endlessly is wonderful.

Here's a partial peek at the newest painting for Starbucks. I like adding in little creatures or funny items that can delight the customer. Numerous times I've observed a child pointing out to their parents a heart shaped spot on a dog I've painted, like they discovered something secret. In this new painting I've done the same. Little surprises here and there. I'm super happy!