Come to the table
“Hospitality is one form of worship.” -Jewish Proverb This painting began as a demo for a workshop I was teaching with my friend Lorraine. I thought it would be a good class subject simply because it had flowers, some table setting elements and the opportunity to...
The Heart of a Servant
I've been busy putting together my Open Studio show for this weekend, which is much like putting together a big banquet. Each piece must find it’s spot, hung in agreement with the work next to it. Loose artwork must be framed or varnished, dressed up and ready for the...
Imperfect Love
If you've ever been to a Christian wedding, you may have heard the reading from 1 Corinthians 13:4-13.* Real love IS perfect. The ability of humans to practice it, however, is a bit flawed. Stay in any relationship long enough and you'll find out that egos,...
Smart Apples
Apples and school just go together. I don't know how many kids still bring their teachers apples now that we have Starbucks gift cards, but the correlation still holds. This piece is acrylic on paper and meant to play up the school-apple connection. Remember learning...
Time flies when you’re making art
Yikes…I'm looking at the date of my last post, and it's over a month ago! Well, I have a few excuses, really. There was spring break, of course. And then I've been busy madly painting lots of new food-related artwork to whet your appetite at my upcoming spring shows!...
May I tempt you?
Bite into my latest recipe art...Fig Biscotti! I entered this in a contest on “They Draw And Cook.com,” where it took an honorable mention with the folks at the California Fig Advisory Board. The original is currently available for $1200, and you can also purchase 5 x...
Brown Bread for a Green Day
We were treated to some warm, delicious home-baked Irish Brown Bread upon returning from a long, drizzly day of sight-seeing while visiting our good friends in Ireland a while ago. Topped with cream cheese and smoked salmon, or just plain butter, it's quite a...
Freshly-baked bread!
The smell of fresh bread baking was a familiar and comforting aroma at my grandmother's house. A former home economics major at a time when many women didn't consider college, she baked fresh bread (and other healthy meals) for her family every week, living to be 101...
Oatmeal Can
In my quest to paint everyday objects and food related themes, I recently rediscovered my "John McCann's Steel Cut Oatmeal" can while preparing breakfast. Oatmeal is a great way to start the day. I love it with brown sugar and butter, or topped with nuts and berries....
Spicing up your art with left-overs.
During winter months we like to make home-made soup. We roast a chicken for dinner and then make stock from the leftover bones, adding vinegar to help draw out the nutrients and boiling them on a low setting for about 4 hours. (helpful hint: I leave the stovetop light...
Orange is the new White
One of my favorite things about living in California is the winter oranges that ripen just around the holidays. Our tiny tree went nuts this year, over-producing a juicy sun-kissed crop. Over the last several weeks, we’ve been picking and squeezing the most delicious...
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: A California Classic
If you visit Santa Cruz in 2011, be sure to look for these decals in some of the window fronts. They display businesses that are members of the Chamber of Commerce, and I had the opportunity to create the illustration of the beach and boardwalk for them! Thanks to my...