Dragon Spring

The initial idea behind the golden background of Dragon Spring is the medieval icon imagery in which gold represents the spiritual ideal.  At least that is how it began.  I am a student of tai chi the Chinese martial art form, and the flow of movement and the gold also brings to mind paintings from asian cultures. The bright colors on the gold background were an experiment that really worked.  They pop right off the canvas and remind me of vines of flowers - flowers that never fade. I see lots of little dancers twirling through the air. I call the painting Dragon Spring because I finished it at the New Year of the Dragon.

Forest Reflections

Forest Reflections is the first in my series of acrylic paintings that depict the woodlands that I see around my studio. I live in the coastal forests of the San Francisco Peninsula surrounded by redwoods, oaks, firs and madrones. In subsequent paintings in the forest series, I concentrated my design along the lines of a particular species of tree. In this one I mostly experimented with the colors. It is one of the first paintings in which I used metalic gold as an accent to show sunlight. As an avid gardener, I see a lot of garden images as well.