Sometimes it's hard for me to be objective about my work, what classification it fits into, especially since I have never taken art theory or any such training.  I paint what I like, what the muse brings . . . that which touches me.  Sometimes I paint a subject to gain the skills it can bring me.  Even so, I put my soul into each work - how could I do otherwise?  I did not become aware of the correct classification of my paintings until a site we linked to listed my works as Expressionistic.  I had to look it up.  Apparently expressionism came into vogue during the early part of the 20th century.  It emphasizes subjective expression of the artist's inner experiences.  This is true for me in my art as well as my writing.

There is a purity in the animal kingdom. In computer terms it's called WYSIWYG - what you see is what you get. It's one of the reasons I love animals. They are who they are. Programmed by genetics and that which is passed down one generation to the next, they are life without malice, without conniving. I also see them as beings with consciousness. While some say it is anthropomorphic to think my cat loves me, I do not. To me they are beings like us, only better. We, humans, like to think we are above the animal kingdom. I disagree. There is much we can learn from them and their acceptance of what is. When I paint animals I try to capture the looks - the consciousness in their eyes. I try to reflect the soul within. I strive to honor and respect them.

Raised in a rural setting I grew up in the trees.  I swam in a salt water slough that ran past my parents' pastureland.  Though my parents didn't have much money, they provided all I needed to develop an appreciation for the natural beauty on this planet.  I am part of the land, the trees and all that is of the earth.  When painting landscapes I endeavor to capture the essence of the natural. I feel the energy.  To me there is no such thing as insignificant being, be it animal, plant, stone, the water we drink or the air that we breathe.

When I was nine-years-old I was asked if I was Native American.  It was the cheekbones that gave me away.  My dad thought we were.  It seemed our grandmother several generations back was named Gooselberry.  While my ancestry is largely northern European, I am a genetic mutt.  The idea of being Native American gave me great pride.  Later we learned that Gooselberry was an aunt by marriage, not a grandmother.  I was very disappointed.

Over the years I began exploring various cultures, including their spirituality.  I learned to value Native American spirituality, specifically the way they honored the land, the animals, all living beings, all things - the spirit world.  Once I came to believe in the possibility of reincarnation I accepted I might have been Native American during other lifetimes.

While learning to paint I became inspired by the images and beings I saw with my mind's eye.  Some of these beings appeared to be Native American.  I began to paint them.  If we are to survive as a species, if all other life is to survive, we must learn to respect all that is within, on and around the earth.  We must step up to the Native American way of honoring All-That-Is.

I am especially drawn to paint portraits - exact likeness.  At present I'm working on developing that skill.  I consider some of my animal paintings portraits as well, though I assign them to the animal category.  When I paint portraits I try to connect with who the individual is.  If that person is deceased, I reach out to their spirit, so I can incorporate that spirit into my painting.  I've painted three portraits in that manner: my friend Tosca, Otto and my sister Anita.  If I knew the person in life, painting their portrait helps me work through the loss.  I talk to them.  I hear their words.  It is an intimate experience.

As we think of our lives, it is often not the events we recall or movies of events, but snapshots burned into our memory, photos that capture the essence of moments in time.  One of the functions of creativity is to show forth the most unusual of these moments, be they tangible or illusive.  The wise ones tell us that we are limited only by our imaginations.  Art accentuates this process.  For me, sometimes images come together to tell an unusual, perhaps intimate story of the world as I see it, or as I fancy it to be.

I grew up on the West Coast of the U.S.  I loved to play at the beach, sculpt sand persons, explore the rocks, wade in tidal pools, feel the waves and sand slip between my toes.  I love the ocean.  My goal when painting it is to capture the beauty, the peace that it brings me, even on a stormy day.  Much of my life has been stormy.  I am now at one with the storm.

There is a debate over whether or not we are spiritual beings having a physical experience or physical beings having a spiritual experience.  I believe in the former.  When we are young we identify with the body.  We look in the mirror and think we see ourselves.  What we see is the house.  The contents are hidden.  That which is hidden is our spirit.  That spirit/soul is the essence of who we are.

From within, from that soul, beauty and creativity are born.  My paintings, my writings originate there.  Sometimes my works are inspired by others.  Sometimes they are inspired by nature.  Most often it comes from my very soul - my spirit - that which I am.  Usually the inspirations are nebulous in origin.  Whatever the source, the creation comes through the spirit.  In essence all the paintings are spiritual.  For a painting to receive a spiritual designation, means it steps into a higher realm.  It touches on All-That-Is.  Some call that God.  Some call it the One.  There are many names for it - but it is one and the same.  It is origin, infinity, Zen.

4-30-08: Robin's Gift

I underpainted Robin's clothes.  I decided on a burgundy-purplish color.  Robin loves to wear purple.  But when I used the dark purple in the first attempt at the painting, it was way too bright, so I decided to tone it down.  To create the proper color I mixed Alizarin crimson, diox. purple, ultramarine blue, a dab of red and a dab of burnt sienna as well as a little white gesso.  I thinned the paint with a little water so it would spread easily.  I've found this works best for underpainting.  The folds and along the curves, I shaded with Payne's grey.  I started using the #8 Ebony Splendor brush, but it didn't apply it very well, so I switched to the #6 bright bristle brush.

4-29-08: Robin's Gift

There was one whitish spot in the background to the upper left of Robin's head.  It didn't seem to want me to cover it with anything.  The paint would not adhere.  So tonight my main goal was to cover it.  I had to blend it into the surrounding area.  I think I managed, although it may need a touchup tomorrow.  I drew a little more of Robin and the harp and underpainted the harp, using a #4 flat Grumbacher Bristlette brush.

4-27-08: Robin's Gift

Adding Alizarin crimson and cadmium red to the mix of colors, I scumbled cloud formations in the background and identified the mountains a little more.  Then I began drawing in Robin and her harp.

4-26-08: Robin's Gift

The paint looked grainy.  So this time, using a #10 bristle brush I scumbled on the same colors in various arrangements, making some areas quite a bit darker.

4-23-08: Robin's Gift

I wiped out the entire painting with white gesso.  The larger image looked like Robin, but on the smaller one, I didn't think I would be able to capture enough of Robin's essence.  So, I decided to start over, making that one larger.

After the above coat was dry I added another layer of gesso and blended in thalo blue and monestial blue and a touch of ultramarine blue to create water and sky.  I created distant mountains with a very pale lavender.  I pulled off some of the stray brush hairs with a small brush and then had to reblend the areas.  I have to remember that a thin paint will remove a thick paint, and I almost took off some of the layer - I had to reblend in more colored paint.  Now the paint is quite thick, and I'll see how it dries.  If it looks awful, I will sand it and start again.

4-22-08: Robin's Gift

I mixed more green in the skin color and tried to make Robin's face a more realistic color and to make the smaller face look more like her.  Both look a little better, but not much, and the little one still doesn't look like Robin.  I drew creases onto Robin's shirt.

4- 21-08: Robin's Gift

I began by working on Robin's clothes - adding shading to the purple, using Payne's grey and a little ultramarine blue at times.  I tried to make sure the yellow underpainting was covered.  I want to subdue the purple, but not too much.  I used the #3 filbert bristle brush, except along the very edges where I used the #2 round Ebony Splendor synthetic brush.  It holds a good point and makes a clean stroke.  After that I worked on Robin's profile painting.  For the face I used a variety of the small brushes including the bristlelettes.  I needed to add more green to the pink tones for the face.  That's one of the things that's missing, the green tones.  Green doesn't show in the finished shading, but it's necessary to achieve a realistic skin tone for a caucasian.  Using a #8 and a #4 flat Ebony Splendor synthetic brush, using the chiseled edge of the brush, I darkened Robin's hair in both images.  I think it will work better than starting with the grey.  I will lighten the hair as I go.

4- 20-08: Robin's Gift

I underpainted the other Robin's skin - I was working and sculpting with the paint.  The problem was that even though it was dry - it needed to dry overnight.  Otherwise with the new wet layers, I was removing the dry layers I had just put on.  So I stopped and underpainted the harp.

4-19-08: Robin's Gift

Today's task was painting Robin's face - the profile.  For this I experimented with two of Grumbacher's Bristlette brushes, a #3 and a #1, both rounds.  They are synthetic, thick and soft and work nicely for blurring edges and working the paint into the canvas.  I also used the #2 round and the #4 flat Creative Mark Ebony Splendor synthetic.  I also used a #3 Pro Stroke filbert bristle brush - for replacing the background color.  The colors I used for the skin were Alizarin Crimson, bright yellow-green, a touch of ultramarine blue and a little Payne's Gray.  Turns out my drawing of the nose, mouth and forehead were off.  They protruded too far.  The mouth was in the wrong place.  That's why I had to redo the background colors.

4-18-08: Robin's Gift

Using diox purple, Payne's grey and white gesso I underpainted Robin's clothes using a #8 and a #4 Creative Mark Ebony Splendor flat synthetic brush.  Using these same brushes plus the #2 round Creative Mark Ebony Splendor I underpainted Robin's hair.  For the hair I used a combination of ultramarine blue, Payne's grey and white gesso.  I decided to paint both Robins at the same time, since the color was already mixed up.  That way I wouldn't have to try to match the color later.

4-17-08: Robin's Gift

Using a white charcoal pencil I drew in both Robins and the harp.  I decided to seat one Robin on a rock.  I charcoaled the outline of the rock.  I won't paint that in until later, just in case I change my mind.  It's hard getting the angles in the harp - kind of like it was with John Denver's guitar.  After the charcoal drawing was done, using the #2 round synthetic brush, I painted the drawn-in lines with thin paint, otherwise, as I brush my hand over it, I will lose the drawing.  The profile looks like Robin, the face-on picture does not.  I will have to work on that.  Time to stop for the day.  Not being able to get it right is starting to annoy me.

4-16-08: Robin's Gift

I selected the two photos of Robin, made copies in several sizes and held them up to the canvas to see what sizes are best.  I will use these copies to go by as I paint.  I do wish the copies of the print were a little better, but nonetheless this is a good method.

4-15-08: Robin's Gift

I selected the background, assembled the stretcher frame and stretched the canvas, then worked on selecting the photo of Robin.  Before finally deciding, I will paint the background and see if that helps.  At one point I was thinking having two pictures of her, one playing the harp and the other of just her face.  Just not sure at this point.

Using Jerry Yarnell's hake brush, I spread water over the entire canvas, then applied a layer of white gesso with X type motions.  Since I'm painting a sunset on water, the bottom of the canvas is painted the reverse of the top.  At the top and the very bottom, with the hake brush I applied med. orange, Indian yellow, burnt sienna and cad. yellow light and blended them toward the center, using a feather touch to accomplish the final blending - "Three hairs and some air" was what Bob Ross called doing this kind of final blending.  Using a pile of color, a combination of the above colors only slightly darker, in the distance, using a #4 flat synthetic brush I painted mountains.  I darkened the mixture a little more and added closer mountains, creating depth.  I then identified the shoreline.  All this was done while the background paint was wet.  I tried to make sure I didn't leave any ridges.