I began painting as I needed a tactile way of expressing what I witnessed and absorbed while living at the Catholic Worker. “Christopher” is a portrait of a young boy who lived in the room next to mine for one year with his mother. The naive quality of my work--though unintentionally--reflects that I was simply thinking so much of this person - that they were on my mind.
Acrylic on Canvas
Gifted to the mother.
Michelle, oil on canvas, 2015
Katie, Acrylic on Canvas, 2015
Lauren, Oil on Canvas Board, 2014
Teresa, Acrylic and Watercolor on Paper, 2014
Sold during fundraiser for Beloved Community Village in Denver, CO.
Christopher, Oil on Canvas, 2012
Thompson, Acrylic on Canvas, 2015
Markand Thakar at Mona's
This is my first oil painting. It is a painting of a very dear friend, with whom I enjoyed many late nights at Mona's in New York City, listening to friends play early jazz into the early morning. He had a heart attack on the way to the Mona's on Mardi Gras in 2012. This painting reflects the rich community--his memorial was held at Mona's--that I so gratefully was a part of for a few years. Markand was also a wonderful, wonderful painter; he encouraged me--having seen a sketch of mine--to pick up a paintbrush. This painting hangs in Mona's--near to where Markand used to sit every Tuesday night--and I couldn't be more honored. A little more about Markand can be found at http://skunkmt.com.
The Capitol
SOLD
Acrylic on Canvas
This is set in front of the capitol in Denver.
There are always flowers for those who want to see them.- Henri Matisse
Violet Tulips
Acrylic on Canvas
SOLD
Green Bouquet
Acrylic on Canvas
Sold during fundraiser for Beloved Community Village in Denver, CO.
Murals
Commissioned Mural 2 June 2016
This is a mural inspired by the work of Jose Guadalupe Posada.
10 ft by 4 1/2 ft Acrylic on Canvas
Commissioned Mural 1
Michelle: A Series of Paintings
Michelle and I have been good friends—more like family—now for ten years. She’s an artist who teaches me what it means to be dedicated to your work—to growing as an artist—even when you don’t have access to an audience. Through her art, she expresses a complex inner experience that is filled with beauty and terror and grief; these paintings unsettle me to my core, which I know is the point—Michelle wants us to question, to rethink things—and help me get a better sense of what Michelle feels and sees. Since about 2015, I’ve been documenting her paintings and helping her to sell prints of them. High quality prints go from $10 - $20. Please reach out to me if you’re interested in purchasing a print and supporting Michelle’s work.
Untitled # 4 by Michelle
Untitled # 3 by Michelle
Untitled # 2 by Michelle
Untitled - by Michelle
Heart's Edge Talk
On "Heart's Edge Talk":
"Environmental. Pleasure. I'm going to use a small word in one of the songs. It's called "sweet eyes are mine." It's a love song. Something lovely. Easy going. Cremation. You can't--it's something that's there for ten, fifteen minutes, you know, like looking at rainbows. 'Cause they disappear. The only way you catch them is on camera, but even if you catch them on camera it's not the same as physically experiencing it. Nobody can take that away from you. You die with that." - Michelle
The Piano
On "The Piano":
"Heaven's nest of sounds and streets that you see and hear everyday."
Sammy's Visions and Dreams Captured in the Middle of the Day and Afternoon
On "Sammy's Visions and Dreams Captured in the Middle of the Day and Afternoon":
"Afternoon naps--I mean, because most kids will either wake up from an afternoon nap very peaceful or they wake up very sudden and take off running. In the morning you kind of drag yourself to go or at night you drag yourself to go to bed. But a nap you naturally lay down. When you look at it--most of the time when you look at a picture, you--ten, fifteen minutes unless somebody catches you to talk about it. You stand, you look at it--you nap--walk down to the next one. It's a nap. It's Sammy's vision. He's napping. All the things that could scare him or give him nightmares it don't because he's taking a nap in the middle of the afternoon. He's not enforced to but he wants to. It's like, 'I took this book out to read it.' Other books I was forced to read. It was mine. I read it on my time. It wasn't somebody else's."
The Talking Miracle
On "The Talking Miracle":
"First entrance and introductions to new life, work, and play of assorted people. It's intergalactic, because it's still on earth--we don't live in space. We're earth bound. Fear of all senses, because you never know what's going to happen. Are they going to eat you? Are they going to beat you up? Fear of all senses. First introductions. It's an exclamation. It's a working piece. It's a piece if you were doing films--if you were doing theatre. But I did a painting. Instead of it being vocally--it's a communication piece. Instead of putting a doormat at your door and your porch light, you can put that piece on your door. A welcome piece. You're entering a party."
Tic Toc
On "Tic Toc":
"Tic Toc like a clock. You know those little bobble head guys? I didn't make a bobble head. I made a tic toc instead. Like a little Hawaiian girl that you stick on your dashboard. Tic Toc doesn't dance like those girls but he ding dings. Sharpness. Sudden things that bounce at you. Madness in the night. 'Cause he's a stone man. He could be running through the forest or the park. He could be screaming, "Madness in the dark! Madness in the dark! Stone man is coming!""
Circle to Square: Square to Circle
On "Circle to Square: Square to Circle":
"The argument between Edison and Magellan proved to the courts the earth was round. Because they didn't talk about gravity at that time. They didn't do gravity until Newton come in. Intergalactic magnets that holds our planets together."
Section 8
"Space. We can't live in space. We live on Planet 9. Section 8. How many planets? 9. 13. 9 and 8 are 17. Why is the number 17? Black coals. Comets. Stars. Guidance systems, which are satellites. All of these things create Section 8. It always moves and changes, just like we do."
