Hot Tomato Painting

Figurative painting and drawing have always been the focal point of my work with a few exceptions. I began my painting exploration using india ink washes on newsprint. Ink has such a wonderful silky feel and immediacy. I also find that it's use evokes strong connections with ancient imagery. Watercolors are so challenging but I truly enjoy the flow of the medium on the paper and the textures of the paper itself. I use watercolor and gouache with pencil when I'm drawing from a live model. I use these figure studies as a springboard for the paintings you see in my portfolio. My current work is produced using mostly Golden Acrylic paints on canvas or board. The rendering style of these early paintings lends itself to figures in nature - usually portrayed as back-to-nature themes. I think of them as modern women, strong, uninhibited, a force of nature in and of themselves. Putting them in forest- like surroundings reinforces this