New Work in Studio
The current work that I began to research and create in mid 2023 and will be working on through this upcoming summer 2024 is here on display.This work is on my reflections and ideas of what it was like for Christine de Pizan as a young girl to travel with her father from her home to the Louvre Palace to meet the King and his household of attendants. I love to think of this adventure for a young girl to be somewhat of an Alice in Wonderland tale full of animals, English teacups, and strange foreign imagery that is contemporary to 21st century ideas of mish mashing cultural art. Along the way, as in any adventure, Christine meets friends who make the traveling so much more strange and wonderful.
Tea-cupping to The Louvre Palace
24"X 30" oil on canvas
A work in progress with an emphasis on closely looking at nature and animals. In this series, I am thinking about the scene with a foreground, a middle ground, and a background that is noticed as the travelers in the river are passing by. I like to think of it as being on a train and looking out the windows to see fleeting moments of wonderment and interest.
Dance of the Teacup Ladies or Knight's Light
24"X 30" oil on canvas
This work in progress is part of the journey to the Louvre Palace where a lone knight holding true to a lit candle talks to a jack rabbit. I have always been interested in the story of Alice and Wonderland and how a white rabbit propels the story. I wondered about the addition of a wild rabbit, one who was a little more travel worn and listened closely to the stories by my husband who used to find the golden egg at the annual Easter egg hunt the Saturday before Easter. He would go home with a white albino rabbit as the prize to the surprise of his parents.
Perils for Tea-cupping Voyages
24" X 30" oil on canvas
The gaping mouth of an old alligator discusses the ongoings of the beach with his friend the painted turtle in this work. The Asian vases decorated with toys and a perilous dragon await Christine and her friends as they will pass by in tea cups.
The Louvre Palace is not far away from here and the excitement is contagious.
We have lots of birds around our house and the idea of a blue jay adding it's magnificent colors to the greens of the water, the alligator and the painted turtle who stands on chopsticks is part of my Alice in Wonderland idea for young Christine in this series. As an aquatic animal, this painted turtle doesn't quite trust those imposing teeth he is close to in this painting.
Queen Nera Black Swan and Mouse Listen to the Koi Fish Gossip
18" X 24" oil on canvas
Word of young Christine going to the Palace travels fast in the imperial waterways and Koi fish are worse gossipers than water striders.
My ideas take me back to my childhood when I used to read my father's childhood book on stories of the Western wind. All the elements of weather and animals talked to each other and I want that same sense of connection between all the imagery in my paintings.
Detail of friends drinking from the puddle of sweet dreams
The puddle of sweet dreams is a nectar that attracts both hummingbirds and bees. We may never know what bees dream about, but it must be sweet.
Detail of the knight with candle light that illuminates the spilled milk from the cup, no one's fault of course, but still a prophecy to the wild rabbit.
The knight protects the candle under the sliver of a new moon as the tea cup ladies dance and await for Christine and her friends to float by in their tea cups on their way to the Louvre Palace.
Detail of some very strong sharp teeth that are under swift water
This makes our painted turtle friend a little nervous. Luckily he found a decorative pair of red chopsticks that lift him out of the green, laughing river and away from old alligator's teeth.