Oil Paintings
Oil painting has greatly influenced my work in stained glass. The freedom inherent in using oils, allowing me to work with organic shapes, creating images that flowed over the canvas, carried over to the pieces that I create in glass. By treating glass as though it were a liquid medium, I am able to conceive and create works that flow into and through their environment. This flow brings life and dimension to the pieces, aspects that engage the viewer and make each viewing a new experience.
Doubt and Anxiety
As an artist trying to make a living, I go through many emotions and I portray a couple of them in these paintings.
Doubt: "will someone like my work? No one will buy my painting."
These are thoughts that come up and I feel closed in, confined.
Anxiety: "Will I make enough money to pay the bills? Will I succeed as an artist?
Will I be able to support my family?" I feel stressed, tense.
Musician Series
Three instruments that stir my emotions are the viola, cello and piano. I wanted to paint visually how I see each instrument sounding when classical music is played. I portrayed the movement of the sound using shapes and color not only within the instrument but also the person playing because the emotion comes from the person.
The Cellist |
 The Pianist |
The Violist |
Trees
There is a tree that has captivated me which I can see from our dining room window. I sit there and study the shape, the way the tree reaches into the sky, the colors that come out in different seasons, the life of this tree. Two seasons that inspired these paintings are Autumn and Winter.
Discovering
When my son was a 1 year old, I took a picture of him during the fall picking up a leaf and studying it. I love the way he was Discovering something new, studying the leaf. While I was painting, I kept thinking about my father and how the cleft in the chin of my son is the same as my dad's. Seeing my dad in my son really made for a very interesting painting as it became a generational piece which I enjoy.
Second Flight
After creating a glass piece titled Flight, it struck me as to how fun it would be to create a painting of it. So, I created Second Flight. I love the depth and color of this piece and how it is light and airy.
Flowing
I wanted to portray the movement, lightness and heaviness of water Flowing. I enjoy the movement from one canvas to another and allowing the viewer's imagination to fill in.
Gusty II
The wind came whipping through one day and I was enjoying watching the swaying and bowing of the trees. An image came to mind for a stained glass piece which resulted in a curve design with the wind wrapping around a tree trunk and branches bending it and pulling it. The image is titled Gusty and I thought a painting with a variation of the glass design would be a great image. I wanted to express the weight and lightness of the wind as it is pushing/pulling the tree. Sometimes I look at this for quite awhile absorbed in the flow, its details, the power of it. I love this piece.
