This image was my biggest achievement in 2008. I say this because there were many times when I put this painting away and said I was done and not finishing it. For some reason i kept coming back to this piece and eventually became determined to finish it. This was definitely a struggle for me being my largest painting that I had done on canvas at 4'x6'. This painting is titled "Cliffs of Moher". When I traveled to see these I felt like I needed to capture the enormousness and essence that these cliffs portrayed. Finishing this in december of last year, I can say that I am very happy that I decided to continue working on it.

This painting was a happy experiment. This is done by using very watered down acrylic and dripping it, while rotating the canvas. I then used black acrylic to do the outlines. 

These two paintings were the beginning of a new series for me. I had never really even dabbled in abstract art. As I began the one on the left I started off by just doodling, as one would do in a notebook. After  few hours it began to become something without very much conscious thought by me. This was a great relief because painting my landscapes I was constantly trying to make them look a certain way, but with these two paintings I could just let my mind wander and create something new and unique.

While painting these two pieces I felt like it was a good break form my everyday style. I am now trying to combine my two styles and see what will happen.... stay tuned for future paintings....

Growing up skiing was always a big family adventure every year. The snow capped mountains reminded me of my childhood. These mountains are the swiss alps. I was amazed that when I was there is was 80 degrees where I stood and the mountains above me where still fully white with snow. This paintings is smaller than most of my work, but i thought the smallness of this piece helped the intimacy the viewer might have with the scene. 

 When it came down to deciding on a theme for my show I was really interested in painting places that I have been. I have traveled the world and have found many different places that have inspired my work. This particular piece is "Costa Rican Sunset". I loved the colors of this sunset. Color is a huge part of my work. It is the colors that I see in nature that generally give me the inspiration to paint that particular scene. Through my paintings I want the viewer to be able to experience the beauty that I fell in love with at these different locations.

As I began my series of thrown bowls I decided that the bigger the better. I wanted to challenge myself to see how big and how many different shapes I could make my bowls. I really enjoy the idea that these are all functional bowls and can be used in any household, but also can stand on there own as a beautiful display. This bowl is 13 inches wide and 10 inches high.

I started doing ceramics about 3 years ago. I decided to take a class in ceramics because I was getting very frustrated with my paintings. To my surprise I ended up loving throwing on the wheel. It was therapeutic to me and even inspired me to paint again. This bowl is about 14 inches in diameter and is glazed in iron red. 

Importance of Technology in the Arts

As one can tell from my last post I do not have very many skills with technology, especially computer technology. For a long time the only reason I used my computer was to check my email and go on facebook. I used to think that was all I needed to know. That I didn't need to know how to use computers, I just didn't like them. However, now that I am entering into a world of younger children who have been using computers basically since they were born, I feel as though it is a very important thing for me to become VERY accustomed to. I cannot have a first grader showing me how to use the computers, that would just be embarrassing. Hence why I have found myself taking an Interactive New Media class. I feel as though it is very important to know how to use computers. I do think using just paint and paper is the way art (for me) should be, but as our world changes we need to change with it, or at least accept the change into our lives. I feel I cannot nock the technology before I give it a fair chance, I need to be able to use it and then if I still do not like it and see no benefits form it, i will then have the liberty to nock it as i wish. But for now I m going to become a pro at photoshop, blogger, powerpoint, imovie and any others that get thrown my way.

Here is my first post. I am trying to figure out how to put up some pictures and I feel quite inadequate at this whole blogging thing...