" Where things lead ", Oil on paper, © 2008, 21" x 40".

Notes on the painting:

I went back to the same image that had nudged me to make "River of Life", only this time I eliminated almost any evidence of foliage and just focused on the the path of the water in this landscape water painting.

" Waterfall ", Oil on paper, mounted on board © 2008, 52 1/2" x 59".

Notes on the painting:

I came across an old image of a waterfall, and was flooded with memories of looking at and spending time in waterfalls and the joy of being under the veil of water. I wanted to make this water landscape painting to feel like you were in the waterfall, feeling the power of it's force.

" Phoenix Lake Summer ", Oil on Canvas, © 2008, 36" x 48".

Notes on the painting:

There is a reservoir in Ross, CA, not far from where I live. The reservoir, which is known as Phoenix Lake, is beautiful and inviting during any season, but it is particularly inviting in a cruel kind of way in the summer, because it acts like a siren on a hot day. As it is a reservoir that provides drinking water, the only creatures that can enjoy being in it are fish and the many turtles basking on a logs. The bright light and the dazzling white of the light on the water looking through a Madrone tree inspired this contemporary landscape painting called Phoenix Lake Summer.

" Rocks and Water ", Oil on Canvas, © 2008, 36" x 48".

Notes on the painting:

I took many photographs of the Gihon River and this landsccape oil painting is a compellation of several different images of the river. There were so many aspects of the river that I had become drawn to, the way it flowed, the way the rocks made the water part, the foam, the light and the pattern.

" Afternoon at the Lake ", Oil on Canvas, © 2008, 9" x 12".

Notes on the painting:

Another late afternoon at Phoenix Lake, where the light was just so. Again fascinated by the reflections in the water and the abstract patterns that were thrown on the water by both the branches and the shadows of the branches ,this water landscape painting was conceived.

" Dreams and Memories ", Ink and Pencil on Paper, © 2008, 11" x 15".

Notes on the painting:

This abstract landscape drawing was a drawing more from memory than from looking, but it was the result of having spent a considerable amount of observing, thinking about and painting the many variations of the ebb and flow of water and the many patterns in and of the water and allowing my mind to wander into that water.

" Underwater ", Oil on Canvas, © 2008, 36" x 48".

Notes on the painting:

On one of my adventures in hiking around Phoenix Lake, I discovered this little inlet. I found myself staring into the water, looking at brambles and reeds below the surface and noticing the blue sky reflecting off the water. The branches of the tree that grew out of the water made this fascinating distorted ripples of brown. This water landscape painting depicts the mysteriousness of sky and illusion.

" Downstream in Johnson ", Oil on paper, © 2008, 30" x 88".

Notes on the painting:

You wouldn't know by looking at abstract landscape painting but the evolution of this painting was somewhat tortuous. It was painted during my 2008 residency at Vermont Studio Center, in Johnson, Vt. There are four panels in this painting in a horizontal format, but at one time during the process of the piece, it was a four panel piece that made up a square. I added, deleted, scumbled, glazed and reorganized. As this piece was influenced by the Gihon River that ran behind my studio in Johnson, I thought the title apt.

" Gihon River ", Oil on Board, © 2008, 8" x 10".

Notes on the painting:

The Gihon River ran behind most of the buildings at the Vermont Studio Center, and it's existence permeated my experience as a resident. This water landscape was one of the first paintings that I did while at the May 2008 residency.

" Mad, rushing river in Johnson ", Oil on Board, © 2008, 8" x 10".

Notes on the painting:

One early morning I sat on a rock on the riverbank of the Gihon River in Johnson Vermont and painted a water landscape painting of the mad, rushing, river in Johnson. Sometimes it was hard to stay focused on painting as I longed to just look at the continual rushing of the river. I wanted to catch the power and the flow of the water as it made it's way downstream.

" Cross County ", Oil on Canvas, © 2008, 48" x 60".

Notes on the painting:

Before I started this painting I was thinking about all the places I had ever lived. I've lived in the east and west coasts and one year drove cross country three times in one year. I started thinking about the routes I had taken and the energy fields around the places I had traveled through and then where I landed up. I glazed the painting and then for some unknown reason, wondered what the map of the us would look like if I was a bird in a tree looking down.