Rockford Midwestern Biennial 2022

Trip, 2022, chalk pastel on paper, 15x15"

Trio, 2022, chalk pastel on paper, 15x15"

I just dropped off these two pastels at the Rockford Art Museum for their upcoming Rockford Midwestern Biennial, juried by Frank Juarez. I'm honored to be part of this exhibition and to show in such a beautiful space. The show opens October 7th; Chicagoland friends, please stop by! 

Rockford Midwestern Biennial 

October 7, 2022 – January 30, 2023

Rockford Art Museum

Color Palettes

Here's a quick glimpse at my recent palette in pastels... there's an awful lot of color there for a delightfully colorful subject...  

...and a sweet note from a dear friend...

I'm working towards a couple of shows next year, and so I'm soaking up every minute of studio time before fall semester starts in earnest. 

I'll share photos of the new work as we get closer to the shows, but for now please enjoy these lovely teals, blues, and greens on my mess of a palette.

 

Recent Favorites

 

Dusk, 2022, chalk pastel on paper, 15x15"

Dawn, 2022, chalk pastel on paper, 15x15"

A couple of recent pieces commissioned by dear friends. These were such fun to make. 

Empty Vessels at Pilsen Arts and Community House

 

It was an absolute pleasure to show some of my current pastels and oils at Pilsen Arts and Community House this past month. Thanks to Teresa Magaña and the whole PACH crew for putting together a beautiful exhibition and reception! You can view and purchase the remaining available work from the exhibition here. 

DRAWN at Manifest Gallery

 

I'm delighted to have this piece included in this year's DRAWN exhibition at Manifest Gallery! This is one of my favorite pastels from my current series - also the largest - and it's an honor to be able to show it alongside some of my favorite contemporary artists. 

My dear friend and studio mate Katherine Colborn has a gorgeous painting in the PORTALS exhibition, running concurrently with DRAWN. It's a rare treat to get to show with your friends, and I'm grateful and humbled to get to share space with her. 

The shows run through May 13th! If you're in the area, please stop by. There's a lot of good work up on the walls, and we are in excellent company. 

Studio, April

 

a rare glimpse at one of my current works-in-progress

palette, divided into warms and cools (sort of)

Holding Space, 2022, chalk pastel on paper, 15x15" 

This object (the same one as in the in-progress piece above) arrived in a box full of cardboard treasures from my painter friend Geoff Barnes. He visited my studio back in December, and I gave him a piece of molded cardboard he admired to paint. Which he then did, exquisitely, twice - and you can see those paintings on his website here and here. I love the way he saw that beautifully weird little toner cartridge endcap. 

This cardboard piece captivated me immediately - the way it catches the light, and all the color that gets reflected into those beautiful browns... endlessly fascinating. I'm looking forward to working my way through that box of treasures, one piece of "trash" at a time. 

Immaterial Things - installation photos

Hi friends. Happy Sunday. My solo show IMMATERIAL THINGS closed last month at the Farmer Family Gallery at the OSU Lima campus - thanks to everyone who stopped by! Here are some installation photos, along with close-ups of a few of my favorites from this group. 

Valance, oil on paper on panel, 14x14" 

Compression, oil on paper on panel, 14x14" (private collection) 

Ozymandias, chalk pastel on paper, 15x15" 

Clear, oil on paper on panel, 14x14" 

All my thanks to Ed Valentine for inviting me to share work in this beautiful space. On a personal note, I remember the first time I saw Ed's paintings at Linda Warren Gallery. I was an undergrad student at SAIC at the time, trying to find my way as a painter in a conceptual program. I stood in front of his work and was awestruck by a room full of PAINTING - actual, contemporary painting that delighted and reveled in surface and image as much as content and meaning. The memory of those portraits kept me going through some pretty brutal critiques, and they've always been a reminder for me of what painting can be and do, today. So, it's especially meaningful to have the opportunity to connect with Ed now, and to be able to share my paintings with him and his students. This is an experience and a memory that I will forever treasure.