These three collages use the image of white horses from a Vogue magazine fashion spread. The top one incorporates the painting of the Madonna of New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, a place very close to my heart. Painted by Leo Neufeld, it shows the Immaculate Hear of Mary, the patroness of the Hermitage. The second has a bittersweet aspect to me , combining the ancient statue in Copan   and the modernizing capital of Uzbekisthan, Tashkent.. The last collage is a distillation  of the sacred with nature  shown in its many aspects. I was very happy to sell this collage to a friend in May; just returned from several weeks hiking in Zion National Park shown as background ,she is a Wood Horse in Chinese astrology.  I have since put the image on my credit card.

  After a prolonged hiatus in posting,  I'm able to post images again. These were made in January, shortly after my beloved 16 year old cat was diagnosed with kidney failure. These icons focus on healing mind and body for both of us.The top image show my cat in a Vietnamese community house, with symbols of the five seasons surrounding her The next one depicts powerful tiger goddesses in a Vietnamese  Cao Dai temple. The third one takes place a Vietnamese Daoist temple with  polar bear and  bison bearing /being offerings with a "cost me an arm and leg" reminder at the bottom.  The last image of the turtle brain is a metaphor for the calming effect of meditation and. hearkens back  to my earlier undersea painting.

These are my Christmas or Solstice creations. A red Tara surrounded by flames dominates " Majesty" while the peace of Yosemite in winter reminds me to "Observe". I've created three more panels to midwife my cat's fragile health. She's 15 now and need sub Q injections of fluids every other day. I'll post those as soon as I get phots taken professionally. She's doing well - the icons are doing their part to comfort and inspire my efforts.

I'm amazed to discover I didn't post photos of my Open Studio in early November taken by my good friend and helper Denise Minter. The top photo is of a 12" x 12" panel titled " Burning". Come to think of it, I switched to a new laptop in November too so figuring out the new Windows photo gallery has been a hassle. I cant even crop my photos.

 This was the first painting where I glued photographs onto the work - from my collection taken at the British Museum.  The painting on the top is the original version with my attempt to render the diaphanous jellyfish with ink and acrylic paint. Once I got rolling with collage, I decided to try enlarging the source photo and pasted it over the painted part. I like the result. The photograph is of the Shah Cherag mosque in Isfahan, Iran that inspired the painting. My whimsical touch was replacing the chandelier with a jelly.

  This one is unusual because I went back to the original version by lifting off the nautilus image to reveal the pool of light in the center of the amber disc. The eye of the nautilus look hokey to me and I like the simplicity of the final version. It feels serene to me. I call it "Nautical Map." It's 12" x 12" ink and paper on wood panel.

  I took the top one to the photographer last week. I was working furiously to finish it in time for my appointment. I kept looking at it when I brought it home, wondering what was the matter with it. It wasn't done yet. I listened to what it wanted to tell me, much like a character in a novel taking on a life of its own as the author writes. A thoroughly delightful experience. It told me when I was finished as well. I call it "Follow ".

 I created this 12" x 12" collage entitled "Wisdom" for the 12 x 12 exhibit at the Modern Eden Gallery at 403 Francisco St. in San Francisco. ArtSpan, the non-profit agency sponsoring Open Studios, arranged for a number of venues ( Super Hubs ) to showcase artists participating in this year's Open Studios.This exhibit runs from Oct. 15 to Nov.2 with an opening reception on Oct.19 from 6 - 10 pm.
  The collage is on a gessoed wood panel made Canadian birch with an alder frame. It makes for an elegant and substantial presentation. Below is another interpretation of the same subject- I think the border looks like one of the wonderful embroideries the Mexican women wear so flamboyantly.

 This new collage is for a poster for Open Studio on Nov. 2 and 3. Musing on various titles, I've come up with "Adoration", " Terra" and "Territory ". It's composed of snippets of my other paintings as well as magazine photos collaged together. Last night, I watched a documentary on Romare Bearden, "Bearden Plays Bearden" ."What you forget is more important than what you remember" struck me as a profound observation insight. I'll definitely be using some of the techniques I saw him use.

Another double take - this one called "Goddess Pondering" . She has been through many versions and may have the last word. Last image is the final version and she is called "Goddess Wonders."

I'm delighting in creating two versions of one painting. The first is called " Soaring " ; the second is "Innocence ", perhaps ? Sister's gaze is mysterious .

 Excited about my latest painting. It's still unfinished- black( or blue ) lines around the photos on the edge and maybe a basket weave of black lines over the entire surface- might obscure the image too much and be difficult to erase if I change my mind. Love the intense color and the vibrating energy of the radiating diatoms. What fun to take an unfinished work and turn it into a treasure  !

 This is the finished version, entitled "Basket of Stars." It will be exhibited at Dogpatch Cafe and Art Gallery, 2295 3rd St in San Francisco from Oct.14 to Dec.1.with a reception on Nov. 1 from 6 to 8 pm.This is another of the Super Hub locations for Open Studio artists to showcase their work for the upcoming Open Studios.

 The top version is the one corrected in Photoshop- the lower one shows all the little glitches. Now off to the studio to correct the real painting ! I picked up a gessoed birch wood panel after my visit to the photographer. I need to paint a 20" x 20" example of my work to hang in the Art Span exhibit space for the month of October- each participating artist may hang one.

 I am thrilled to have professional photos of my latest artwork at last. My camera isn't capturing their beauty and the plastic-like surface of the Yupo paper creates a bounce effect that distorts the colors. Don Felton at Almac Photo in San Francisco does fabulous work at reasonable prices. I watched as he removed some surface blemishes in Photoshop- pure magic. I'm getting my publicity ready for my next Open Studio at the beginning of November. This is the image on my publicity postcard ; it appears in a much paler version on the back behind the text.

      These goofy guys remind me of a Steve Martin routine.Based on an ancient Babylonian or Sumerian tablet that I photographed at the Archeological Museum in Istanbul, I intended it to have gravitas but instead have tickled my funny bone.
     The photo at the top shows the latest version of the painting. I'm happier with the new look. The professional photographer's lighting is much better than mine as well. The colors look so vibrant !

  I spent several weeks in May making this storyboard to illustrate my retreat experiences at the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur . I went to a gathering celebrating one thousand years since the founding of the Camaldoli Hermitage in Italy- each participant was asked to bring a storyboard illustrating their connection to the place. I enjoyed making collage again and spent a long time laboring over the narrative portion, trying to create a whimsical fable.I enjoyed the hard work of pulling it all together. 

                                                                                 
         This is Nike descending or ascending, depending on your point of view - she's based on an ancient Greek statue . The side panels are postcards or photographs.The top one is the final version- the color difference is from the light situation, not from my work.

   The final version of lion attacking. horse on the to with stronger color and the black ground now surrounding the club-wielding central figure.

  Yesterday's work - adding the jellyfish frieze to the top of the piece. First I sketch in the shapes, then I fill in the dark sea, next I decide it overwhelms the image below so I erase and then paint over the dark areas. Now, as I look at the different stages, I like the inky effect the best. It's so easy to erase marks on the Yupo paper with water and paper towel, scrubbing with a Q tip if necessary. Sometimes it's a disadvantage. Maybe it's best to let the image rest for a while before deciding. I base my decisions on the little image I see on the back of my camera. I'm intrigued to notice the same pattern while working on the last image I made( of Artemis and the Egyptian boatmen). Courage and patience are needed in equal measure, it seems.

Just figured out how to download photos from my iPhone into my computer- too bad I didn't figure it out before my beautiful new iPhone was stolen with all my great photos from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Now I can record and post my current work.

    First stage of my most recent painting - Artemis statue from Ephesus in Turkey with an ancient Egyptian frieze of the Pharoah's boatmen docking on the Nile.
    The finished piece is at right. Luckily, enough traces of the original detailed sketch remain, though I tried to delete them for a paler effect. It's fairly simple to recapture the dense patterns that are so alluring to the eye. The saturated color enhances the beauty of the image as well.