My idea for this series of paintings was born in the fall of 2006 while traveling from Portland to SW Washington Hospital to visit my Grandma Franny. I would commute across the bridge into Vancouver and see silhouettes of birds perched on telephone wires. I imagined them gossiping about what other birds were doing or bragging how big their worm was. I wondered if they were playing the game 'telephone', a game in which each player whispers to the next player the sentence or word whispered to them by the preceding player. Morphing often occurs for instance, "I love you Fred" might come out as "olive oil and bread." When I told Grandma about my random thoughts, it would trigger memories from our past. When I was a child, it wasn't unusual for her to slam on the brakes and slide into gravel to point out a crane in a field or to watch the geese heading north in the spring. I had taken this training of observation for granted and began to see how I had incorporated this in my life. I started to paint about it.

Exploring the figure as a metaphor for examining how we are connected, I strive to create an intimate relationship between the viewer and the work through color, words, and the subject. Intrigued by atmosphere of light and color, I aim to capture the vibrancy of a contemplative sky and the introspective sense of self.

I see painting as a way of honoring our connection. I love color, the transparent and opaque quality with which I can play, the relationship using contrast, and portraying the interdependence of the subjects. I work on canvas or wood with oil and acrylic paint, and sometimes collage.

Using my love of painting, my goal in this work was to hone in on the lessons my Grandma was sharing. My fear, like the game "Telephone," is that sometimes the point gets lost and changed along the way. Knowing our time together was limited. I asked Grandma Franny, "What from this lifetime do you want me to know?"

Without hesitation she said, "Love, compassion and forgiveness. With that comes everything."

sizes-
open your heart -60" X 48"
nonconformist - 42" X 54"
compassion - 72" X 42"
love - 32" X 56"
want to be myself - 58" X 40"