Artist Statement
My art has always been connected with how I learn. I’ve drawn a picture of every teacher I’ve had since middle school. Whether I am capturing a moment in my sketchbook with extemporaneous marker drawings or processing ideas and experiences on canvas in my studio, the artistic process is one of inquiry.
As I paint and draw, I trust my markers and brushes to discover the patterns that keep us connected. I allow the images I create from observation to meld with the doodles and scribbles that I feel compelled to create. The resulting art expresses something about the invisible fabric of our communities that I would never be able to express with words.
Below, please find a selection of my artwork which is currently available for display or sale.
I welcome your advice about which to pursue further.
Surreal San Francisco
I’m fascinated with the landscape of our city. The way that neighborhoods flow like fog down the sides of dramatic hills, and how wildflowers sprout their way through small cracks in the sidewalks. These paintings are about the physical beauty of San Francisco and are also imbued with my curiosity about the city’s political complexity.
You can find more examples of this body of work including sold pieces on the Surreal San Francisco page of this website on on the heart sculpture I was commissioned to paint for the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation.
Bernal and the Bay in Bloom ::: acrylic on canvas, 30” x 24”, 2020
View of Coit Tower with Trout ::: acrylic and mixed media collage on canvas, 3’ x 4’, 2020
Bernal Heart Drone ::: acrylic and collage on canvas, 18” x 24”, 2018
Flowers Glen Park ::: acrylic on canvas, 24” x 36”, 2022
Floating Bernal Hill ::: acrylic on canvas, 11” x 14”, 2021
Heart of the Mission ::: acrylic and mixed media collage on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2021
Tethered to Bernal ::: acrylic and mixed media collage on canvas, 30” x 24”, 2019
Machine SF ::: acrylic and ink transfers from vintage engineering books on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2020
Inside Bernal Heights ::: acrylic on canvas, 24” x 30”
Inquiry Paintings
Curiosity and exploration are part of the practice for all artists.
In these paintings, I make inquiry a very explicit part of the process.
You can see me brainstorming right on the canvas. Often, I collage and remix sketchnotes from events that inspire me as a way to reflect on their meaning and think about how I will act on what I have learned. Sometimes I use the pages of a book as a point of departure. I don’t know where this approach will take me next.
Teaching Art Online ::: acrylic and mixed media collage on canvas, 24" x 30", 2021 ::: I teach a lesson to students where we scribble our emotions onto paper and then use those scribbles in a new piece of art that tells a story about our feelings. This painting uses the example scribbles and drawings from a year of teaching online to tell a story about my experience as a teaching artist during a year when classes were all held over Zoom.
Grace and Compassion ::: Acrylic and mixed media collage on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2021 ::: This painting is a reflection on a year of meetings with San Francisco Unified School District beginning in April 2020. Read all about it in this article on Mission Local.
Centering Marginalized Voices Machine ::: acrylic and collage on canvas, 18” x 24”, 2016 ::: Reflections incorporating sketchnotes from the 2016 Emergence conference at the Contemporary Jewish Museum and various other artist convenings.
Naming it is Powerful ::: acrylic, lighting gel samples, and crowd-sourced mixed media collage on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2018 ::: Reflections incorporating sketchnotes from the 2018 Emergence conference at Root Division (a convening of the Emerging Arts Professionals). The painting also includes written comments from people in the afternoon archiving breakout session.
Embrace Tension ::: acrylic and collage on canvas, 9” x 12”, 2018 ::: This painting represents a reflection on the booklet, Principles for Equity in the Arts created by members of a YBCA fellowship.
The Word Mayonnaise ::: acrylic and pages from Trout Fishing in America, on canvas, 9” x 12”, 2020
Feeling Connected ::: acrylic on canvas, 9” x 12”, 2018
How Though? ::: acrylic and mixed media collage on canvas, 9” x 12”, 2021 ::: As an educator, I teach about using art to access our emotions and using our emotions to create meaningful art. The pandemic has been tough for all of us. This painting is an artifact of my own process as I ask, “How do we hold this?”
Still lifes, abstractions, and other work
This is a sampling of other work, each of which could be the seed of a new series.
Fungi Forest Network ::: acrylic on canvas, 40" x 30”, 2021 ::: This is inspired by the work of Suzanne Simard who proved that trees communicate with each other and send resources to each other through their roots via a network of mushrooms. There is a magical inter-species forest community that people are just beginning to barely understand.
Reaching ::: acrylic on canvas, 24” x 48”, 2021
Portrait of a Tree With Feelings ::: acrylic on canvas, 18” x 24”, 2021 ::: This canvas started as one of my election week paintings from 2020. I sat in Holly Park processing the stress of an national election whose results were still uncertain. In that first iteration, I included the words, “FEEL that nervous ANGRY ENERGY HARNESS [and] Unleash That CREATIVE POWER.” A year later, I decided that the painting would be better without the words - but those feelings are still in there.
Teapot Plant ::: acrylic on canvas, 18” x 18”, 2021 ::: My studio companion.
2 Beers ::: acrylic on canvas, 8” x 8”, 2021 ::: One of a series of simple paintings of beers.
1 Beer Can ::: acrylic on canvas, 8” x 8”, 2021 ::: One of a series of small paintings of beers. One beer can, and you can, too!
Abstract in Pink ::: acrylic on canvas, 9” x 12”, 2020
Calibrated ::: acrylic on canvas, 8” x 10”, 2022
Selected sold works
Below is a small sampling of paintings which have sold from galleries, from this website, or at auction.
View of Twin Peaks and the Sky Above ::: acrylic on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2020, SOLD ::: This is a painting of the view of Twin Peaks as seen from Bernal Heights. The abstract scribbles in the sky mean something, I’m just not sure what.
Excelsior View with Poppies ::: acrylic and collage on canvas, 24” x 36”, 2018, SOLD
Wildflower View of Bernal Hill ::: acrylic on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2020, SOLD ::: This is the view of Bernal Hill from around Valencia and Cesar Chavez - but with poppies and lavender added because that just feels right.
Arts Equity District ::: acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 24” x 30”, 2020, SOLD ::: This painting reflects on a year of meetings that I participated in as an arts partner and advocate for arts education with the San Francisco Unified School District.
Floating Telegraph Hill ::: acrylic on canvas, 11” x 14”, 2021, SOLD
Four Hills, Four Towers, Flowing Fog, Native Flowers ::: Installation view at the corner of Geary and Powell in Union Square. ::: acrylic on fiberglass and metal heart sculpture, 5' x 6' x 40", 2021, SOLD