Life in Oil
I began to integrate traditional oil-on-canvas in 2019 as a more sensitive medium to highlight a changing world, the dynamics that impact our relationships with one another, and our ability to deal with unprecedented global challenges.
Painting has emerged for me as a powerful analog antidote to the expectation for immediate gratification fueled by an ever increasing online life. We live in a society that is more and more connected interculturally; yet we are more disconnected interpersonally.
These paintings allow quiet reflection on climate change, migration, the pandemic, social distancing, and the sense of loneliness and disconnection from loved ones.
Shelter in Place - 2020
Oil on canvas 24H x 30W in.
This painting reflects the reality of the most vulnerable in our communities who have no homes at all and for the thousands of others who lost their homes to wildfire during the pandemic in 2020.
Detail of Indian Trade - reminded me of sign painting with my father as a child.
Indian Trade - 2019
Oil on canvas, 24H x 30W in.
Detail of Urban Mesa
Urban Mesa - 2019
Oil on canvas, 20H x 24W in.
Arid scenes portrayed above are becoming more and more familiar. Many small towns in America and cities around the globe are experiencing drier conditions due to global climate change. Without water there is no life.
Worldwide the earth is experiencing longer periods of drought and an increased range of desertification due to global climate change, including here in the Pacific Northwest.
These paintings invite us to reflect on the impact of social distancing, a sense of isolation caused by the pandemic, and the effects of other natural disasters on humanity.