Table for Two
This welcoming nook greeted me in the hallways of a retreat center in the Philippines. The strong line designs, the colorfully patterned chairs, and the repeating cool lights all drew my attention. A perfect spot for a cup of tea.
Friendly Face-Off
So many faces do pansies display. I went large with painting them, because they offer bold color statements along with their expressive designs. Cannot these flowers cheer any one out of a blue day?
Peony Swirl
A tiny ant had to eat away the live, green casing on a bud to release the marvel of the billowy peony–nature’s inter-dependence at its best. How impoverished our Mays would be without the full-skirted, fragrant peony.
Asian Flair
Somewhere I found this small vase that drew me into its hand-painted scenery, and I knew I could use it in many a still life. It may have been the third time I painted it, but I think it was never so gloriously crowned as with these fiery red poppies. And I think these humble American poppies have never looked so elegantly Asian.
Vietnamese Maria
Today, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into heaven, I think about the kind of young woman that she was. She was deeply imbedded in her Jewish culture and exemplified the best in it in her times. When I try to paint images of Mary for the modern world, I think often of how other cultures picture her. Here is a Vietnamese style madonna, lovely, young, and consecrated. Her face mirrors those of the many young women of Vietnam who give themselves to religious life.
