So, I have now been shut away in my house for 18 days with 3 kids ages 13-15. I'm sure some of you can relate. We have actually enjoyed quite a bit of our time together and have done a lot of fun activities that I don't think we would have ever even thought of. We've been:
1. Practicing drag queen makeup
2. Organizing dinner parties with just us as guests but dressed up as other people. I was Michelle Visage from Ru Paul's drag race.
3.Watching drag queen shows (we love those drag queens)! We just watched BenDelaCreme live tonight and she was magical. Make sure to check her out. Alaska was our entertainment last Friday night and was awesome as always!
4. Yard work (didn't see that coming)
5. Playing games and puzzles. I introduced the kids to my 1973 "Family Feud" board game. That was funny since none of the questions involve the internet.
6. Charades
7. Just Dance
8. Making up mini-plays
    Just to name a few things...

But, I have also had a lot of time to paint, which is always a much appreciated distraction. I am posting my new pieces on my Portfolio page, but here are a few for now...

I have integrated laser cut metal into both of these pieces. Whimsy Wood Puzzles, who produce my jigsaw puzzles, also cut metal and were nice enough to cut out these pieces out for me.

These are a little different from my usual pieces, but I am teeming with different ways that the painting and metal can coexist together. I love the juxtaposition of the softness of the women with the cold, hard metal. It adds to the strength of resilience of these divas.

Anyways, everyone stay safe. This is the perfect opportunity to find your inner artist, reconnect with friends and family, meditate or just dress up and watch drag queens!
Love to you all!

I am pleased to announce that I will be a featured artist in the "About Face: Perspectives" show at the recently opened gallery, Shaneland Arts. I will be joining 3 other talented artists, Damian Gomes, Giancarlo Fiorenzo, and Julio Gallegos.

This will take place on First Friday, November 1, 2019 from 6-9pm at Shaneland Arts located at 301 E. Camelback Road in Phoenix, Arizona. I visited Shaneland for the first time about 2 weeks ago and was blown away by what a cool place it is. It is a gallery, but goes one step further by creating a space that fosters creativity both for the artists and the patron. I hope everyone will come by and support the artists and this new creative center. We need more of this kind of thing here in Phoenix so I'm so glad to get to be a part of it.

SlopeArts  first annual  Art on the Canal is scheduled for Saturday, October 5, 2019.
North Central Phoenix -
along the Canal at Herberger Park One & Central Avenue. 
8622 N Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85020
Noon - 9PM

This new arts festival will feature artists lined along the Canal, including yours truly. I hope you make the time to come and see all that Sunnyslope has to offer. Sunnyslope is an area that I truly love. It is one of the few places in Phoenix that encourages artist's quirkiness, so you can find some interesting things in this area. The area has had its ups and downs over the years but I see it really rising up in the local art scene. And by October, the weather should really be ideal!

I will be featuring some of my favorite original paintings, as well a smaller prints and my latest obsession... painting mannequins. Pictures coming soon.

BTW- If any Sunnyslope Artists are reading this now, I would really love to hear from you! Please drop me an e-mail or stop by my booth at the festival to introduce yourself. You have a wonderful community there and I always love meeting creative new people!

Just a goofy little video I did after watching Monty Python...

I have just been featured in a new interview that just came out on the Voyage Phoenix website. Voyage Phoenix specializes in the Phoenix and surrounding areas, and focuses on the arts and entertainment. I was honored that local artist Maggie Keane suggested me for the article. I had met Maggie while working on the Phoenix Mural Project, where she did the most amazing mural of Irish Wolfhounds. She is most well known around the Valley for her murals of David Bowie that just knock my socks off too. You can see some of her work here.

Here are some final images from my part of the Phoenix Mural Project. My partner Sheena Cryer and I shared a 40'x4' wall, so I did the right and left sides and she concentrates on a beautiful galaxy and jellyfish scene in the center.

To see more photos from this event, go to the Phoenix Mural Project's Instagram page.

Here are some progress photos for my latest painting. This latest diva is lost in a maze of her own mind. I fear that this is a representation of what my own brain feels like from time to time. Too many thoughts and ideas, which many times lead me to dead ends. I'm sure we all know that feeling...

Since I always include an animal representative in all of my paintings, I decided to change this one a little by using the bird silhouettes in a Victorian-style wallpaper.

Something exciting is happening in Phoenix this weekend (May 4-6, 2018).

85 artists are collaborating to create 50 new murals throughout Central Phoenix. And I am honored to be one of them. I am partnered up with a talented Phoenix artist name Sheena Cryer. Together we will be painting a 40'x4' wall in the alley at 7th Ave and W. Edgemont Ave (a block south of Thomas). The public is welcome to come by and watch.

The event launch on Friday, May 4th, with a gallery showing of the participating artists' work at the Unexpected Art Gallery at 734 W. Polk Street from 6-10pm.

Click here for more information about the Phoenix Mural Project

Sorry I haven't posted anything for a couple of months, but I have had a streak of productivity and didn't want to break it. Below is an example of what I am currently working on. I have also added some new pieces to the Portfolio page.

My current painting is not quite finished yet but I still wanted to show some picture of the progress and the steps I take while working on a painting. So far the most challenging part of this piece has been the car. I underestimated how little experience I have with cars. This one was supposed to be a Karmen Ghia but it is looking a bit more like a concept car, still cool, but not something you see driving down the street. I also do not do houses very often so that is posing a challenge. Currently it looks a bit askew, but I think I prefer it that way. I don't really enjoy complete perfection. It makes me a bit uneasy and frankly, if a bit boring, so I think I will leave this poor girl with a slightly creepy house on her head.

The concept behind this is someone dreaming of a home that is unattainable. If you notice, the car does not really have a way to get to the house, so it remains a dream in the woman's head. Whenever I go anywhere lately I notice that the streets are filled with people with such dreams, living out of their cars or shopping carts. I think we all have the same dream to find a place to feel warm and comfortable and safe in.

As usual, the holidays made everything get away from me, so I haven't updated any posts for awhile, but I have been working. Here is a sample of one of my latest creations called "Flora and Fauna." This is an homage to nature and how everything around us is made up of all the same elements, making us one with the beauty of the world.

I was very excited that my paintings were on display for the past month at ASU Gammage. Unfortunately I have to go take them down to make way for a new show, but I have gotten some great response back from art lovers. Thank you to all of you that saw the show and were kind enough to contact me with your praise! An artist's life tends to be pretty solitary in order to get work done, so it is always a mystery to me as to how people will react to my work. So nice to hear from those of you that like it. I would even love to hear from those of you that don't.

My painting "Birds" is a semi-finalist in the #ArtisanSeries sponsored by Bombay Sapphire. This is very exciting for me since the finalists will go on to be exhibited at Art Basel in Miami, FL in December. This is an online competition and you can vote once a day. Please cast your vote for "Birds."