This page will be updated regularly with my latest paintings, including my comments about what inspired me to create the artwork and what dialog, whether internal or with other people, I hope the work will inspire in viewers.
Thanks for checking out my art and reading the back stories! Check back again soon, as there's always a new painting on the easel…
Run, Rabbit Run (2024)
20"x 20"
Acrylic on Canvas
Continuing the theme of multiples and the color palette family of Shelter (below), Multibunny depicts a rabbit (or multiple rabbits? or one rabbit in multiple stages of a jump?) breaking through rose vines that may also grow snakes.
Dream Migration (2024)
16"x 16"
Acrylic on Canvas
This painting was inspired by a visit to the New England Aquarium in Boston. The jellyfish exhibit absolutely captivated me… they looked like swimming clouds, and I knew I wanted to turn that idea into a painting. That inspiration turned into this painted "story" in which the jellyfish are migrating through the sky, with bubbles for stars, all fueled by the dreams of the little girl running alongside them.
Shelter (2024)
48"x 24"
Acrylic on Canvas
Playing with the colors of the desert and the idea of multiple interpretations of a single image. It's a landscape but also an image of caretaker and child.
Gila Kong (2024)
Collection: My Southwest View
48"x 36"
Acrylic on Canvas
What if that iconic Empire State Building moment from King Kong was turned entirely “Tucson”? Well, this is what I think it would look like. I've been planning to repaint this guy bigger and better ever since I did a smaller, less detailed version of him months back… this is Gila Kong, the entirely Tucson version of the absolutely awesome King Kong! In this final version I've added custom paint jobs to the A-10's, lots of Tucson landmarks to the town below, a gorgeous sky background and just overall more refinement and detail.
Multipass (2024)
Collection: My Southwest View
30"x 40"
Acrylic on Canvas
Did you know you can see the Grand Canyon from space? That is the inspiration behind this painting, along with a certain SciFi movie that is not well known, but an absolute cult classic and one of my favorite science fiction movies ever. That film, The Fifth Element, inspired the extraterrestrial hiker (styled after Leeloo in the film) and the Mondoshawan spacecraft in this piece.
When Jackalopes Fly (2024)
Collection: My Southwest View
40” x 30”
Acrylic on Canvas
The jackalope is not just a part of pop culture featured in books and imagery today, but also a piece of lore of the wild, wild west of the past. The folk magic intertwined with the story of the jackalope goes hand-in-hand with that unique sense of beauty and magic Arizonan's sense here in the Sonoran Desert. I’ve combined the jackalope with a hot air balloon to give the painting an extra bit of fun, and also because I regularly see hot air balloons floating over the Tucson mountain ranges on my morning drive.
Cooper (2024)
Collection: My Southwest View
36”x 36”
Acrylic on Canvas
Skateboarding is a pop culture phenomenon It started out small and almost died out, then came back with force and became as much about lifestyle and identity as sport. This painting is especially close to my heart as it features my brother’s own board, shown here being skated in an Oro Valley drainage ditch.
Good Dog (2023)
Collection: My Southwest View
48” x 36”
Acrylic on Canvas
There is an actual rock formation in Sedona, Arizona that looks like Snoopy lying on his back. Kudos to nature for that sculpture! It inspired this painting, depicting a "real life" Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Woodstock on a visit to Sedona to admire Snoopy's own Mount Rushmore.
Look and See in 3-D (2023)
Collection: My Southwest View
30"x 30"
Acrylic on Canvas
Did your Viewmaster ever bring things a little too close to real life? Childhood magic come to life is what it's all about in this painting. In person, this painting actually looks very close to 3-D… it's a really fun one to engage with in real life. * Note - all of my paintings are painted around the sides of the canvas like this detail image shows. I have just chosen to show it here as it is part of the fun 3-D feeling of this painting.
Choose the Form of Your Destructor (2023)
Collection: My Southwest View
48” x 36”
Acrylic on Canvas
I love the movie Ghostbusters, but like so many other movies, it's set in New York City. I wanted to bring it home here to Arizona, and decided Bisbee would be the perfect setting. The town of Bisbee is known for, among other things, an eclectic population and a long, haunted history. What would Ghostbusters look like set right here in Arizona? This is my vision of that happening.
Saturday Morning Cartoons (2023)
Collection: My Southwest View
24"x 36"
Acrylic on Canvas
Who did you root for, the roadrunner or the coyote? This painting is my second painting featuring these two… I wanted to have a little more fun with it this time and brought in the rocket and the roadrunner’s awesome spinning legs. The idea is to bring a child's view of the cartoon onto the canvas. When you're a kid, you believe in the cartoon characters you see so much that you feel like you could run into them in person out in the world. Here are these two - two of my favorite cartoon characters - brought to "real" life right here in the desert.
Desert Rat (2023)
Collection: My Southwest View
24"x 36"
Acrylic on Canvas
The Sonoran Desert is a playground, especially if you have a Big Wheel and a Push-Up ice cream!
Bat Country aka Sonoran Hot Dogs (2022)
24"x 24"
Acrylic on Canvas
Inspired by Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Tucson Cube (2022)
24"x 20"
Acrylic on Canvas
How cool would it be to have a Rubik’s Cube with sights from your favorite city? Here’s my version of a Tucson Cube.
Cheshire Bobcat (2022)
10"x 20"
Acrylic on Canvas
I'm having so much fun taking some of my favorite pop culture references and placing them in the Sonoran Desert! This painting is called "Cheshire Bobcat" and changes everybody's favorite cat in the tree to a bobcat on a saguaro! “We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.” - Cheshire Cat
Beep, Beep! (2022)
24"x 12"
Acrylic on Canvas
"Beep, Beep!" is my homage to the old Roadrunner and Coyote cartoons, which were a favorite of mine as a kid. Arizona folks will notice some local references in the background, including "Snoopy Rock" from Sedona. This piece has already sold, but I have some more fun pop culture reference pieces in the works!
Desert Tortoise and the Hare (2022)
24"x 18"
Acrylic on Canvas
That tortoise is going to win the race! In the same spirit as my roadrunner and coyote painting, I've brought the Tortoise and the Hare fable to life in our beloved Sonoran Desert setting, with the desert tortoise cruising on by while the hare sleeps in the shade of a cactus… after snacking on some prickly pear.
Barrio Viejo (2021)
24"x 12"
Acrylic on Canvas
Sights from our beautiful Old Town Tucson.
Roadrunnin' (2021)
16"x 12"
Acrylic on Canvas
Tucson (2021)
18"x 24"
Acrylic on Canvas
Tucson showcases my love for the city in which I live.
White Rabbits (2019)
24" x 24"
Acrylic on Canvas
White Rabbits is an invitation to dive down the rabbit hole and lose one's self in a spiraling sea of color and creativity. Alice in Wonderland has long been an inspiration to me, and this painting is a tribute to Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll) and his lasting contribution to all things wonderful, silly and fantastic.
Night Terrors (2018)
12" x 12"
Acrylic on Canvas
This is the first piece in a new series which is currently in the works! Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles… you know the terror of a Lego to the foot in the middle of the night. Stay tuned for more pieces which document life in a family with young children.
After the Show (2018)
36" x 36"
Acrylic on Canvas
This piece is very personal to me as it is inspired by a moment several years ago when I saw my oldest daughter sitting in the kitchen after her ballet practice, looking simultaneously exhausted and powerful, vulnerable and resilient, sorrowful and beautiful. She struggles with anxiety and depression, but she battles through the toughest times by putting on a strong facade and "performing" her way through the day.
I wanted to create a painting that could somehow capture the amazing complexity of that moment when she could drop the facade. The fact that she was in a performance outfit (not quite as showy as the one I painted, admittedly) was perfect. I wanted her to have a comforting friend. In reality the friend was the safety of our home, allowing her to let it all go, but in the painting I made it a monkey, because I love throwing in something bizarre!
Magical Midnight Gathering (2017)
24" x 30"
Acrylic on Canvas
I love how the forest has this sense that anything can happen there under cover of night… worlds intersect, magic is possible, everything is alive and connected. The tree roots move across and beneath the earth like the veins of the forest, communicating with each other and every being, bringing life to every nook and cranny.
Monster Parade (2017)
36" x 12"
Acrylic on Canvas
Monsters are friends, too!
Immortal Beloved (2017)
16" x 40"
Acrylic on Canvas, wired to hang either side up
Love knows no boundaries!
Unbound (2017)
48" x 24"
Acrylic on Canvas
The idea behind this painting is that we all hold ourselves captive to our own perceived limitations. We feel trapped in jobs we don't like, situations we would love to escape, relationships that may not be healthy and so many other situations that we may feel locked into. "Unbound" illustrates these illusions of confinement with the surface of the water. It looks solid, impenetrable. There is freedom just on the other side, but she doesn't think she can reach it, until she starts to push, and sees her hands reaching through the surface.
This painting was created as a positive affirmation, that we all can and should reach beyond our perceived limits to achieve all of those things we thought we could, if only…
It's a Boy! (2017)
24" x 30"
Acrylic on Canvas
To the Top (2017)
24" x 30"
Acrylic on Canvas
Hush (2016)
36" x 24"
Acrylic on Canvas
I believe that censorship begins with children. When we tell children to "hush" and not to join in the conversation, we instill in them a feeling that their words are not valuable. When we fear that their "unpopular" opinions, honest though they may be, might cause shock and embarrassment, we teach them to conceal ideas that might be considered offensive. Essentially, these children are being set up to accept censorship later, even learning to censor themselves by habit as time goes by. To the contrary, I believe that children should be encouraged to explore all ideas, and instead of being taught to censor themselves, we should teach them to present unusual and even unpopular opinions with tact and clarity. It is the child's mind, open and honest, which has the potential to grow and bring the kind of new ideas that can cause real, good change in the world… if we let them!
In relation to the Beneath the Surface series, this painting shouts out that nothing should be kept beneath the surface due to fear or censorship. From children to adults, thoughts and ideas are meant to be shared.
In this painting, we see the child, gagged with a beautiful bow, and if you look carefully on the left side of the painting, you'll see the shadow of the person, finger up to lips, in the "shhhhh" position. This is the shadow of censorship.
Beneath the Surface (2016)
16" x 40"
Acrylic on Canvas, wired to hang either side up
This painting carries the same name as the series because it is very much what the series is about. It combines humor with thought-provoking imagery, while simultaneously creating a really fun, bold painting.
On one side we see the happy image of a little girl walking along a sunlit sidewalk, lollipop and teddy bear in hand, with her plucky little orange tabby trotting along behind. The only hint that all may not be as it seems is the somewhat pensive look in her eyes. They are not the vacant doe eyes of the oblivious.
The other side, in its generalities, is a mirror image of the first. However, this is not the candy-coated image we see in its counterpart. This world is grimy, the girl's hair is mussed, she's stepping in gum, and in place of her lollipop is her bear's head (damaged). The remainder of the bear, tucked under her arm, is headless and grimy. In place of her kitty companion is an equally eager raccoon, but he seems to have a bloody mouth, as does our little girl.
So, I ask you, which is the real world? Which is the more truthful image of the girl? Are we ever 100% ourselves? Perhaps the biggest question is, which side would you hang up?
The Costume (2016)
24" x 24"
Acrylic on Canvas
Hang this panting in the kitchen or dining room, and you'll never feel alone while lamenting over having to eat your vegetables!
In relation to the "Beneath the Surface" series, this painting is a fun, bold image of The Costume. We all start putting on costumes when we're little kids. It's fun to dress up and pretend to be something or somebody entirely different for an afternoon. We would put on the superhero costume, for example, as in this painting, and instantly we would feel powerful and ready to take on anything. Underneath we were still the same, though, and a few vegetables could shatter that shell instantly!
As we grow older, our costumes become less obvious, and we wear them for different reasons. The head of a business may put on an air of confidence during financial struggles, shielding his employees from worry and unrest. The female CEO may walk just a bit more powerfully than she really feels, making sure everybody knows she's got the situation well under control in a time when men still dominate and earn more for high level positions. A family may post happy photos and comments on social media to hide their marital struggles. They could very well be the envy of their friends who wish they could "keep the fire alive" like this obviously perfect couple. Though the years pass, we all still wear The Costume
Girl by the Wall - with "The New Colossus" (2017)
24" x 24"
Acrylic on Canvas
Like so many people, I am horrified at the suffering going on all around us. Every day the news overflows with it. The rhetoric we hear is that we must take care of ourselves first, to "be safe" from the other, the outside, the over there… meanwhile divides grow within the borders of our own country. It crumbles from within while fear, hate, politics and greed gnaw at the very core of who I thought we were. No wall will keep that out. No amount of turned backs will shield us from our own hypocrisy.
When I was a kid, I believed we were good, that our nation was a beacon of hope, help and welcoming to anybody who came to our shores in need. I saw photos of the Statue of Liberty, and read Emma Lazarus' words, and felt proud to be an American. This is not to say that I'm not proud now, nor do I have any profound cure for the cancer that eats at our moral core. I painted this with both sadness hope. I know that so many other people would choose love over hate, welcoming over fear. I don't disagree that there are very real dangers and true evil out there, but they are not only beyond our borders, and closing some out closes out so many more who have their own evil to escape and desperately need that "lamp lifted beside the golden door."
Secrets (2016)
24" x 30"
Acrylic on Canvas
Secrets. We all have them. But what happens when a person tries to hide too many secrets, or secrets that are just too much a part of who they are? They lose sight of themselves and they they live in fear of people discovering "the truth" about them.
This painting is about what can happen when somebody lives their life trying to stuff those secrets below the surface, away from sight. She's trying her best to keep a sweet, smiling exterior, but the chaotic paint splatters all around her and the skeletons pushing their way out of the crate tell a different story. It's painted with humor and fun, but I'm a firm believer in transparency. If people don't like you for who you are, you don't need them anyway!
I Believe in Magic, For All the Dreamers (2017, both)
Designed to be hung as a pair.
30" x 15" (each)
Acrylic on Canvas
Dreams are those hidden gems that live inside all of us. You can't see them, but every person you walk past each day has them. They inspire us, they motivate us… sometimes they even scare us a little. All of that is wonderful!
The real magic happens when we let them loose into the world. When we set aside caution and release those dreams with every breath of hope and effort we can muster, we give them a chance to come true. But dreams are fragile, and most of them will burst, like bubbles, and be no more. That's ok, though. It's important to recognize that simply having the dreams is a beautiful thing. Attempting to realize them is beauty in itself, like the bubble that glistens with rainbow reflections and plays in the wind for just a few moments.
Even more magical is that special, seemingly magical bubble that doesn't pop. If you've blown enough bubbles, you know this one. It will eventually catch the wind and fly off into the atmosphere. It won't burst, and just becomes more and more amazing as it dances off in the sky.
So, keep on dreaming, Dreamers. This one's for you.
The Stories We Tell (2016)
18" x 24"
Acrylic on Canvas
This painting at first appears to be a sugary-sweet image of a girl enjoying her ice cream. That's the image you'd see in your social media feed, as the mom gushed about her perfect life, her perfect kids, and the oh-so-perfect afternoon they had at the ice cream store.
The truth is, those moments are rarely real. We're tired, we don't enjoy every moment of our lives, and that perfect moment with the ice cream would probably be followed by, for example, the discovery that there were ants on the table and now they were all over the ice cream.
This isn't a bad thing, really. It's life. It's flawed and funny and it's full of a million less-than-perfect moments that make us laugh and cry at once. It's time we celebrate that imperfect beauty, and just quit it with the perfectly posed facade.
Approval (2016)
20" x 20"
Acrylic and Fiber Paste on Canvas
The idea here is simple and positive. This painting doesn’t care who’s standing in front of it. It doesn’t care where you’re from, who you love, what religion you practice or any of the other things that make us unique, but shouldn’t divide us. "You’re OK!”