Blog
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OFF Social Media / ON Seasonal Review
December 27, 2021I’m off social media. Sadly I was hacked, but here’s to keeping one of the benefits of S/M- sharing studio work. This page showcases short video clips of things I’ve done in a season. In the months preceding my hacking I started experimenting with Reels on Instagram, and loved it!…
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A Pink, Creeping Feline on a Pedestal
October 15, 2021My work focuses on objects in space and how they interact with the living. In this painting, a tomb-like structure, muted in color but in high contrast, frames the figurative scene within. Three women occupy this space: one in the foreground, painted with soft edges and the same low-chroma palette…
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My Adventurous Momento
May 31, 2021Traveling and painting: two of my favorite activities. It’s true that I paint landscapes, but the ones painted en plein air leave the biggest impact. To sit outdoors with my pochade travel painting box open to the sights, sounds, and smells- that’s the time when decisions speed up and all… -
Painting Collages
April 12, 2021Set of Four Painted Collages Magazines filled with unique photographs with a variety of graphics are ideal for collages. We have the Financial Times delivered to our house, and three weekends out of the month the glossy magazine How To Spend It is included with the paper. Basically, it’s full…
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Golden Ratio Challenge
March 29, 2021Lists, goals, and challenges keep me moving forward. Therefore when a fellow artist friend suggested, and continued to press, that I join the 100-day challenge on Instagram, I agreed. I really enjoyed my last Instagram challenge, #forteQchallenge, which helped to build a sense of community and got me painting about…
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Neel’s Son Hartley: Master Portrait Study
February 19, 2021Alice NeelHartley1966oil on canvas National Gallery of Art USA .
OBSERVATIONS + IMPRESSIONS Some of the notes I had jotted down while painting: “His left eyebrow.” “Cocky.” “Super thin body, lounging back in the chair.” Hartley leans back in the chair so that his torso is slightly curled inward, his…
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Master Family Portrait series: Cezanne’s Uncle Dominique as a Monk
January 15, 2021OBSERVATIONS + IMPRESSIONS This portrait of a severe-looking man with arms crossed and furrowed brows is actually a portrait of a family member playfully dressed-up as a monk. Cezanne completed many portraits of his uncle in various characters, and this is just one. In it, the background is cool green…
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Weir Farm Artist-in-Residence Project: Documenting Spaces During Times of Transition
December 2, 2020“I choose the rooms that I live in with care.” In this song, Leonard Cohen describes a simple space: small windows, a bed, and bare walls. These plain words do well to describe the narrator’s state of mind.This I’ve always felt: that our environment has the power to both…
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Value Studies as a Base to Interior Scenes
December 20, 2019My work is propelled forward from studying artworks of others. By studying I mean creating a copy of the artwork, and in this case, focusing simply on the value (light/dark).
I’ve been exploring value and its importance in organizing space. This is a quick and fun exercise where I can…
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Cherry Hill Artist-in-Residence 2019
September 27, 2019As part of Perkins Center for the Arts’ Community Partnership Spring 2019, I served as an artist-in-residence at Copper and Woodcrest Elementary in Cherry Hill. The residency was an 8-week program that introduced eight kindergarten classrooms to a new art concept each week. Students then used a variety of materials…
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Drawing From Life: A Focus on the Self
August 30, 2019Blue Self-Portrait 12x9 inch charcoal and acrylic on bristol 2019 I’ve completed my yearlong research to make portraits from life. This project stemmed from my experience painting 25 family portraits from photos for the Exhibition and Collaborative Fellowship at Community Arts Center last Summer 2018. I saw the clear advantages…
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Collections Review 2018 Part 3: From Reference Photo
January 2, 2019This is part 3 of 3 posts showcasing the 33 artworks that entered collections of friends, family and art-lovers this 2018. These twelve drawings and paintings included here were completed from reference photos, most of which were taken by me. Thanks and onto the Collection Review!SACRAMENTO VALLEY 8x10” ACRYLIC…
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Collections Review 2018 Part 2: From Life
January 2, 2019This is part 2 of 3 posts showcasing the 33 artworks that entered collections of friends, family and art-lovers this 2018. These eleven drawings and paintings included here were completed in one or two sittings from life, not reference photos. Thanks and onto the Collection Review!FRANKLIN INSTITUTE STEPS PLEIN…
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Collection Review 2018- Part 1: Portraits
December 31, 2018This is part 1 of 3 posts showcasing the 33 artworks that entered collections of friends, family and art-lovers this 2018. The ten paintings included here are portraits painted of people or animals from reference photographs I took or provided by the client. Thanks and onto the Collection Review!
Shalom…
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Community Arts Center Exhibition and Collaborative Fellowship 2018
July 1, 2018Two years ago I set out to paint realistically. I knew I had to create many, many paintings to build my skill, so I decided to choose a subject that was meaningful to me. So I chose my family EXHIBIT Tree portrait is the third portrait I painted but it… -
Painting Family With a Story
February 28, 2018A new opportunity has sparked a change with how I think about and paint my family portraits. Let me give some context. This Summer 2018 I’ll be participating in the Collaboration and Exhibition Fellowship at the Community Art Center in Wallingford, PA alongside Philadelphia printmaker and teaching artist Martha Knox. … -
December Art Challenge
December 30, 2017The last month of 2017 brought an impromptu art challenge that was so exciting to work through and that pushed me to produce work I’m proud of. The ten day challenge: one acrylic painting in one session without using any black paint. You know what? I painted elevenSometimes when…
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Holiday Art Sale Success
December 29, 2017December is holiday season and marks the end of a year and the longest of nights- but this December also ushered in my first Holiday Painting Sale! I’m so glad that each special painting is in a good home. I’ll say a few words farewell to each of them!OCNJ…
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RollerCoaster Politics + The Role of Art
November 15, 2017A guest and Sonya Clark (right) during the performance of Unraveling, Saturday, 11.4.17. (c) Jenny Graham-Hougah Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts hosted a forum on Art and the Election 11.3.17. I was attracted to this artist talk because I, too, have been wondering “What is the role and responsibility…
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Outdoor Painting Is Easy and Cheap
August 27, 2017The magazine Plein Air Painting boasts of being the most circulated artist magazine in the world. At first I was shocked that Artforum or Art News, which publish articles about museum and contemporary gallery shows, did not lead the art publishing market. But now I totally understand why Plein Air… -
An Extended Look
May 2, 2017Practice makes better. That phrase gets me through the painting phase when each part of the painting doesn’t work and I’m totally frustrated. Each mark I make is a learning experience, and I know I can always paint over it. I figure by painting many portraits from photos I will… -
New Family Album
November 23, 2016I’m creating a family album, but instead of photographs it’s of drawings. I’ve been scrolling through my pictures and am picking out a select few that make the cut. I just finished a portrait of my husband, and it’s a picture of him - he’s got his hand on his…
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Charcoal Portraits: Commission Now For the Holidays
November 16, 2016If you’re anything like me, your phone is filled photos. I love capturing exciting events and intimate moments, and I smile when I look at these pictures. But I rarely print any of my photos. I’m changing all that by building a collection of portraits of the people I love,…
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Project Trip: Montauk NY Dusk/Dawn
October 10, 2016I was fortunate to visit Montauk NY to research for the series I’m currently working on: Dusk/Dawn. Montauk is on the eastern tip of Long Island NY and is very pleasant in October. The temperature is mild, the beaches are empty, and the plant-life is still in bloomSketch from…
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On Becoming a Painter pt 2
September 11, 2016I’ve been developing plans for a painting career, and in the process, I realize my life has changed since I’ve become a painter. And I’m loving it. Here’s just a few ways Visibility. Sharing the artwork and the process via social media, struggles included. I’ve relished in the community…