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You walk on the beach, and the sea rushes up over your toes, transforming sand and shells into a rhapsody of light. Freshwater pearl, quartz, and Czech crystal; sterling toggle clasp. Matching bracelet.
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An anklet of amber, glass, found pieces, leather, and silver. 2001
I made four of these choker sets for a bride and her attendants in 2002.
My husband’s mother, Billie Page Odom, collected Madonnas. I painted this for her in 2001. Someday I’ll tackle this again; the idea was good, but the instantiation is not how I visualized it. I drew about three dozen different versions before I started painting.
My mother, Netta O’Neal, lost my father to cancer in 1981. They were one of those perfect matches, and while she has a full, good life, I think she is constantly, on a deep, hidden level, waiting to see him again. I was thinking about that when I painted this for her. Watercolor on paper.
A triptych of goldfish. They kept swimming through my brain in 2001, and this was the first set of paintings to result from that.
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One of my earliest web gigs, somewhere around 1998, was the Pegasus Theatre in Dallas, Texas. They had a lovely logo, designed by a local artist. Using PaintShopPro’s animation tool, I created this animated gif, frame by frame; it was the second animation I made. Shortly thereafter I discovered Flash, and life became much simpler.
In the original version, it ran once and stopped repeating. Here, I have it repeating so viewers don’t have to reload the page.
This was a commission from a friend, for friends of hers in New Zealand. If I remember rightly they live in Auckland, and are the Roses of the “Castle Rose” in the map. I put the Southern compass point at the top, rather than the North, to show the proper respect.
The quality of this image is poor, as I took a photo of the painting with a disposable camera before the painting was shipped to New Zealand. This is a digital photo of the photo. Watercolor and ink on paper.
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A commission from the same friend who commissioned the map of New Zealand. This was a remake of one made when I was 19 or 20. As I recall, the original was a little more bloodthirsty, and there were piles of armor and weapons looted from the knights in the cauldron. Also, the recipe books were clearly for humans.
The book titles, right to left: In Search of Nessie; St. George: Myth or Monster?; Cuisine à la Dragon; and Reptile Recipes.
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This was a copying exercise, taken from Birds: Their Life, Their Ways, Their World. Ad Cameron did the exquisite illustrations; I think he leaves bird illustrators like David Sibley far, far behind. According to the book, there are “authenticated sightings of the European woodcock Scolopax rusticola carrying its young in flight” (1981, p. 125). It took a few sketches to get the proportions right, but I finally managed it. Watercolor on paper.
I dream of illustrating a book like this some day. I work hard and keep deadlines and think details are a joy, not a bother. Any takers?
I’m fascinated by where things begin and end, and how many different ways you can draw those lines in life. Watercolor on paper.
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This was a prayer, or a meditation of sorts. A grail, a tree of life, wisdom knots, and a tao/communion wafer are here; and each leaf is its own tao, as well. I was in serious need of peace. I found the frame at a garage sale for a nickel. Ink and watercolor on paper.
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An octopus dreaming about an octopus. Inspired by a National Geographic photo. Acrylic on canvas.
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This was my very first acrylic piece. This fish, unlike most of my fish, was not painted after a specific species but is unique. I was feeling particularly isolated when this came to me.
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Writing, art, and vodka. Inspired by the series of Absolut vodka advertisements painted by modern artists; a personal version. Stippled ink and watercolor.
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Hazel was a pet rabbit who met a tragic end, but not before I captured him in charcoal. He was very loving and sweet, and was (of course) named for the protagonist in Richard Adam’s Watership Down. Charcoal on paper.
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Two hand studies from figure drawing class. Not astonishing, but a personal breakthrough for me; the color change comes from fading on one side of a fold. Charcoal on paper.
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My mother was very taken with this; I think it’s still one of her favorite pieces. I was fourteen. The inks were a Winsor & Newton set I absolutely adored; the best paper I could find was onionskin resumé paper at the grocery store. We were vacationing at Padre Island and the dunes inspired me. Colored inks on onionskin paper.
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