Her Harmony Rising

Here she is, a woman of transformation, a stage that can come at any point. Yet arriving usually requires lots of care and exploration directed towards the outer container.
Now, it's all about the inner world, although she's attentive to her outer duties. Qualities like hope and gratitude feel deeply tangible, as if she is holding them with overwhelming familiarity.
This linocut is 12 by 18 inches, an elegant size and the perfect container for both detail and balance ...and ambition (a size like this takes at least a month to get through without rushing the slow and steady process of printmaking). ; )
Thanks for stopping by during this exuberant Spring!

Union

Union is a part of our intrinsic condition. Our separate identity is also undeniable. Here we have both. There is something immensely liberating in watching a significant other grow and transform, all the while standing respectfully (and emotionally) at the sidelines. We are born to move and extend our branches, to unite with others in moving and melting and surprising ways. Yet our own journey is always our own. And as we grow, aligned to our unique frequency, our own hearts grow larger and deeper.
For a linocut, this size (12 by 18 inches) is significant, and it took me a few months of gradual work and incubation. It's only at the end of all the carving that the artist witnesses the whole, and then, with overwhelming gratitude, thanks the journey into the unknown of the final outcome.
This linocut was hand pulled and printed on rich Arches mould-made paper, all the way from a mill in France that produced some of the first bound books in Europe.

And here is a recent watercolor of a Blue Jay that left us for a while; in the meanwhile, a equally visually intricate Sapsucker is in its place, making lots of squeaky-toy squeaking noises, quite a contrast to the Jay's shrill and authoritative calls.
Have a wonderful 2015, with lots of time to look up at the sky and marvel and marvel!

Six in the Morning

Before each painting, the prolific folk painter Grandma Moses started with her process of finding a suitable picture frame. Once she discovered one she liked, she would arrange her canvas to fit the frame, and off she went!
With linocuts, the entire process begins with the menial task of cutting a piece of Battleship linoleum to a certain size. After that, it's impossible to ignore the piece, and so conceiving and carving begin very quickly as the block calls out to be transformed.
This circle linocut (sized by tracing around a large salad bowl) is 12 by 12 inches, titled after that lovely time of the morning (at least, for those of us who are early risers!) and carved in the beautiful Piedmont Park, Atlanta. Have a wonderful rest-of-the-week-and-month!

New Installation

New installation! Thanks, Ananda seva, for the great pic! And thank you, Satchel, for the wall space, and, Judy, for expert facilitation. And a new study: Purple Crow (8.5 by 11 inch watercolor), for the passionate walkers among us, urban or rural. Have a wonderful, meandering week!

Women of Wisdom

This linocut is 12 by 18 inches, printed on my favorite Arches cream 250 gsm printmaking papter, which literally embraces the inked block when rolled through the etching press. Depth, connectivity, thoughtful honoring of the gifts already present in our lives, ancestors (I recently met a wonderful woman who told me she dreams often of her grandmothers and grand-aunts), rising to embrace our richer, expansive, compassionate self...all these things were woven into the intention of this piece. Thanks for stopping by!

Last Day of March

It's Spring and a metaphorical time to savor our resilient qualities, our innate strength to embrace both change and dormancy. The Gita, the beautiful conversation of 5000 years ago, focuses on our spiritual nature, and also gives guidance for living in this day-to-day world; the external world, with the senses and mind pulling this way and that, needs to be gracefully tolerated.  But that can only be when we embrace our deeper nature and personal path!
This piece is my favorite size (7.5 by 9.5 inches) to carve; the block is small enough to complete within a few weeks, but large enough for details, and inclusion, with a # 1 V tool.

Isn't this fern frond beautiful with possiblity! It is outside my studio, and by now it has already stretched out, unfurled, lapping up the sun and the intensity of the forest. Have a wonderful, and wise, spring!

The Graceful Journey

The Graceful Journey is a 12 by 16 linocut on Arches printmaking paper and a celebration of our deeper journey where external events cease to hold their power over us.

And next weekend is the annual Right Whale Festival at the Sea Walk Pavilion in Jacksonville. If you are in the area, stop by for a educational glimpse into these beautiful giants. Above is a 8 1/2 by 11 watercolor, painted on the thickest grade watercolor paper (inviting layer upon layer upon layer). Have a wonderful weekend!

New Work

Recently I witnessed two cardinals feeding each other, skillfully placing cracked-open seed into each other's beaks, and "two became one".
This piece was painted shortly after visiting Hong Kong, the land of enveloping, reassuring mountains. Three-quarters of Hong Kong is countryside, providing a great "stop over" for hundreds of varieties of birds, with its protected wetlands, mountain ranges, and seashores. Thanks for stopping by!

Transformations

Relief carving is a slow process. Each piece is a journey in patience and detachment, and there is no guarantee of the exact results. "Transformations" resonated on the first proof, hinting at the presence of deeper, expansive qualities. This linocut is roughly 8 by 10 inches, printed on Arches printmaking paper. Have a great week!

Surprise

This piece (a 12 by 12 linocut) was carved on a recent visit to Pensacola, Florida. The "old fellow" in the photo was hanging around the pier, looking for hand outs. I was convinced he couldn't fly; pelicans can live to be up to 50. The way he was hobbling around, pecking at anyone who came too close (including two tourists who posed for a pic in front of him!), he appeared to be done with the daily grind. And all that was shattered in a second as he suddenly departed in elegant flight.

This observational incident is also a metaphor for shattering personal limitations; right next door to so-called perceived limitations, there is wonder and beauty and inner strength.

 And here's recent piece from a series of watercolors focusing on the beauty of solid forms. Thanks for stopping by!

Farewell to Winter

Farewells have the potential for deep beauty. We say a graceful good-bye, and yet we know we will meet again, perhaps transformed and stronger and kinder. My linocut, carved over a longish period of time, is 14 by 14 inches wide and hand printed on beautiful Arches printmaking paper.
Our spring garden is extra joyful after a longer-than-usual winter! Thanks for stopping by!

Wings

Sometimes our wings are down. It is then necessary to search deeper and trust that quiet periods are deeply vital. This Burrowing Owl is a 6 by 9 inch linocut,  carved beneath a Live Oak with branches that spread like protective wings. Have a great week!

Forest Mandala

A recent 12 by 12 inch hand pulled linocut. Have a great week!

Whiskers

Any pet owner or caretaker will confirm how animals have clever ways to entice their caregivers to play. For example, I've seen a huge bull delay harnessing in favor of a cat-and-mouse game.

This is a 12 by 14 linocut, carved meditating on the gifts the oxen and cows offer us. They deserve our protection.

And if you are vegetarian-friendly, here is a wonderful site: www.purevege.com

Right Whales!

Another recent painting from my series of 9 by 12 inch ocean-related watercolors! Thanks for stopping by!

Mirror

The Bhagavad-Gita, the oceanly deep conversation from 5000 years ago, talks about this world being a reflection. The exact analogy expressed is the Banyan tree, with its upward roots and downward branches, symbolizing the binding nature of this material world. Yet the tree echoes a deeper reality; it turns out the tree, or the external world as we know it, is a reflection that can also point us in the right direction.
This is a 12 by 12 inch linocut. With relief printing, a cut can't be erased, and a design as minimal as this one is always risky. But when I pulled the first proof, the image resonated and I was grateful!
Have a great rest-of-the-week!

Identical

Narwhals from the Arctic! And it's the males that show off beautiful tusks. Down here in northern Florida, there'll soon be a spirited celebration of whales at annual Right Whale festival, hosted in Jacksonville at the sea walk pavilion during the month of November. In comparison the nawhal, the northern right whale population is *extremely* sparse.
The Nawhals' mottled skin is perfect for watercolor; there is a beauty in the spontaneity of the colors moving about.

And here is a pic of the new piece I am carving in the perfect studio—outdoors, with a "Lifetime" portable table ("lifetime" is branded on the top of the table, as if singing a metaphor). Thanks for stopping by!

Inner Teacher

We all have an inner teacher in our heart. If we are fortunate enough to have friends who have moved through a patch of deep confusion, they are our teachers too; they usually guide us back to the clarity of what we know, deep down in our expansive self, to be true. This linocut is 16 by 18 inches, and so a large press helped me pull the print. : ) Hope you are having a great week!

Kurma

Here is Kurma, the wonderful tortoise incarnation of Vishnu, with the diatyas and demigods suspended above (they are actually churning the ocean of milk using a sacred mountain as a churning rod and Vasuki, the celestial snake, as the rope). Kurma is kindly providing support while having his back scratched at the same time! This is the history behind the fascinating Kumbha Mela festival, celebrated in India every 12 years. Up to 70 million human beings attend!
This is a large gouache piece. I painted this, along many others in the same series, after spending months painting freely, in the process-painting mood, with an array of Lascaux gouache. Have a great week!

Refreshing!

Creating, when you really get into it, is a long, refreshing, adventurous walk; it shifts complacency and limitation.
This is an untitled 12 by 12 inch linocut, started in Hong Kong and finished in Florida, a few miles from the ocean's roar. Have a wonderful week, honoring your beautiful essence! : )