Earlier Paintings

In this post I cover the time from attending the University of California at Santa Cruz through my years in upstate New York, and into our time in Pennsylvania, when I was immersed in running a bookstore and raising twins. 

These paintings share a common frontal approach which related to medieval altarpieces. The tend to be heavily symbolist. In my younger days I thought a lot!

The Circle of Life

This small oil was one of the first things I did when I went to UC Santa Cruz. It reveals my interest from an early age in the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Later this became central to my spiritual path.

Oil on Canvas, 8" X 10" 

NFS/Personal Collection

Intertwinned

Intertwinned is a self portrait I did in college around 1972. It contains very personal and significant imagery regarding my relationship with my closest friend, and my art. All tied together...

Oil on canvas, 30" X 40"

NFS/Private Collection, California

The Rape of Mary

This is a portrait of one of my college friends. A virgin, she was being pressed by a male friend to have sex. All the peer and societal pressure of the time (1972) was on this young woman, who had only her own will to hold up against it. This situation led me to think about the patriarchal idea that the Virgin Mary would have been thrilled to learn she was being impregnated by God. Maybe yes, maybe no.

Oil on Canvas, 32" X 48"

NFS/Private Collection, California

Reunion

This oil, painted in my studio in Ithaca, NY, was my first serious attempt at painting after a long hiatus. I had spent the years following graduation first traveling in Latin America, and then pursuing a back-to-the-land lifestyle with my husband to-be, Steve (We've now been married 32 years!).
This piece harks back to Intertwinned. But whereas that piece dealt with an outer relationship, this one delves into the chthonian realm of my subconsious to try to recognize and reclaim a part of myself which had long been buried.

Oil on Canvas, 30" X 36"
$4700
Prints Available



The King Must Die

This piece relates to one in the post titled Fire, the painting of the antlered being in Willing Sacrifice. I grew up as a Christian, but my spiritual quest led me down other, older paths. I learned that the concept of a sacrifice made for the benefit of the people was an ancient and wide-spread idea. I examined it in this painting, identifying both with the sacrificial king, and with the loving hands pressed against his breast in farewell.

Oil on Canvas, 24" X 36"
$3200