Acceptance into the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society's 34th Annual Juried International Exhibition

Mayan Gate

$1,500.00

Watercolor, Framed

14.5” x 21.5,” (37 cm x 54.5 cm)

Framed Size 21.5" x 28.5," price includes frame

Selected for the Louisiana Watercolor Society 44th International Juried Exhibition 2014

Selected for theFlorida Watercolor Society's On Line Exhibition, 2014

Selected for Pennsylvania Watercolor Society's 34th Annual Juried International Competition, 2013

Selected for the Annual Central Florida Watercolor Society Exhibition 2013 at the Terrace Gallery, City Hall, Orlando Florida

This painting was inspired by the wonderful Mayan Revival Architecture at the Maitland Art Center, Maitland Florida, designed by J. Andre Smith. 

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A great way to start the month of July!  Wanted to share today that my painting Mayan Gate has been accepted into the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society’s  34th Annual Juried International Exhibition!  This is a prestigious international show and I’m honored to be in the company of so many wonderful artists.  Thank you to juror Pat Dews!

The show will be from October 5 - November 15, 2013 at the Crary Art Gallery, 511 Market Street in Warren, PA.

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Lotus Nocturne

Lotus Nocturne

$175.00

Price Includes Shipping

Limited Edition Archival Giclée Print Signed and Numbered, Edition of 300

Original painting is SOLD.

Image Size:  Half size from original, 19.5" x 9.25," (23.5 cm x 49.5 cm)

Shipped flat with backing board.

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The lotus is part of the symbolic language of eastern religions. It is a symbol of purity, enlightenment, and rebirth.  Each part of the plant has a meaning or significance from the roots, to the stems emerging from muddy waters, the leaves, buds and flowers.  Symbolizing the souls journey through life, coming from the murky water, the stems rise above the mud, the buds an unborn soul, the beautiful flower rising above it all and opening, enlightenment, and the seeds falling from the pod, enlightened souls to help guide others.

Traveling through Asia I have marveled at lotus ponds I have seen in Bali, China and Japan.  I have wanted to do a large painting in a vertical format for a while and felt this was the perfect subject matter.  I enjoyed designing the composition for this piece and wanted to depict all the stages of the flower from bud, to bloom, to the seed pods and the strength of this majestic plant rising to the heavens.   It wasa meditation and a challenge at the same time working with a limited palette of color for a larger painting.

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Lion Dance

When my family and I moved to Hong Kong, it was right after Christmas and right before the Chinese New Year Celebration, the year of the pig.  We had no idea the extent of this holiday and it was a real treat to experience it while living there.  There are so many fascinating traditions, celebrations, and spectacles that last fifteen days.  One of my favorite things to experience was the Lion Dance.  These can break out anywhere.  They were performed several times in our apartment complex, and whenever we heard the loud gong, cymbals and drums we would rush down to watch.    The dance is to provoke good luck, and is performed by two people usually trained in martial arts, one person performing the head and the other the body. They dance along the route to a gong, drums and cymbals.  Sometimes following a laughing Buddha, dressed in monks robes wearing a mask.  Above the doorways are placed heads of romaine lettuce or some type of greens.  The lion eats the lettuce and scatters the leaves on the ground for good luck.  There is mirror on the head of the lion so that evil spirits can be frightened away by their own reflections.

This painting Lion Dance depicts a lion head-piece from a performance that I saw.  I loved working on this painting, the bold color, the subject matter and the size really spoke to me.  I almost feel as if it painted itself!  I love it when that happens!   This is the largest painting I have done in watercolor it measures 36” x 36”.  I really enjoyed working big!

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Kyoto Sonae-Mono (Offering)

Kyoto, Japan is one of my favorite places on earth. It is a place I long to go to again and again. This painting Kyoto Sonae-mono is from an offering I saw at one of the many temples in this lovely city. Sonae-mono means offering.

This painting was painted using only 3 primary colors, French Ultramarine Blue, Aureolin Yellow and Permanent Rose, plus an American Journey color called Mint Julep which is semi opaque.  This was a great exercise in mixing  all the color I needed from the basics!

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Balinese Lotus, Progress

Today I am posting a few progress photos for this study of Balinese Lotus.

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Balinese Lotus

One of my favorite projects I worked on at Walt Disney Imagineering was Disney’sAnimal Kingdom, especially since it involved travel!  I was part of the design team for the Asian area and Discovery Island, formally known as Safari Village.  The design team would go on research trips to Asia, to immerse ourselves in the culture, and photo document countries we visited to help us to re- create similar environments in the park.  We would also seek out and work with local artisans and craftsmen to create elements that would eventually be part of the overall design.  On one of these trips we went to Bali, one of the most peaceful and magical places I have ever been.  This painting is called Balinese Lotus, after the lotus pond at Cafe Lotus which overlooks Pura Saraswati.  This is a small study for a larger piece I’m working on.  In the next post, I will post a few progress photos of this piece.

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Bananas on Japanese Box

I have always been fascinated with boxes and containers of the Asian variety.  I have a collection of japanese wooden boxes, bento boxes, rice bowls, wedding baskets, etc...  Living and traveling in Asia was like being a kid in a candy store!  Back home in Florida, I have a small grove of banana plants in my backyard, I picked a bunch and set up this still life on one of my Japanese boxes.

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Hong Kong Gatekeeper

While living in Hong Kong I was so intrigued by the Chinese temples and visited quite a few of them in the area.  I was doing a sketch in the Man Mo temple on Hong Kong Island one day and the incense from the huge incense coils made my eyes burn and by the time I left I reeked of smoke.  One thing that was ubiquitous was the ornate lion head brass door pulls on the entrances to the temples.  Because I'm usually honing in on the details, I have quite a few photos of these and did many sketches of them on site.

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Women Painters of the Southeast 2nd Annual Exhibition

Just got back from the Women Painters of the Southeast 2nd Annual Exhibition at the Imagine Gallery in Franklin, TN.  What an amazing show and experience!  Met so many wonderful new friends and talented artists.  What an inspirational demo by Lori Putnam!   Congratulations to a new friend and fellow Floridian, Rosalyn O’grady for winning Best in Show.  Such a wonderful event in a charming beautiful community!  Thank you to the Imagine Gallery and to all of those who organized the event and donated their time to make us all feel so welcome for the weekend.

You can view the works by in the show by all of these talented women artists here.

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Tuscan Olives

During a previous year's Troupe 4276 trip to Italy, we visited the Roman Ruins in a hill town, Fielsole,  above Florence.  There was a small olive grove on the grounds.  I wanderedthrough the trees, taking photos of the olives dangling from the branches. That moment was the inspiration for this painting, "Tuscan Olives."

I am donating this painting for the Live Auction at the Dr. Phillips Theatre Magnet's 8th Annual Gala, "Giving Hearts for the Arts."  Proceeds are also benefiting the American Cancer Society.  Comejoin us for thiswonderful cause, and a fun evening with food, and entertainment from the award winning Troupe 4276!

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