Bright Delights

August 2023

This month in the studio, I exchanged my paint brushes for scissors. I am cutting up my previous paintings to layer bits and pieces on top of bright, colorful origami paper (a gift, thank you!)

It is fun to create mountain forms from the crops plus create forms with the negative spaces. I’ve been enjoying the opportunity to create Escher-like natural environments, assemble mountainous terrains, and arrange compositions that work in multiple directions. Three of the five shown here can be rotated and the balance remains.

The New Mexico blue sky has been clear and very BLUE most of the summer, so there’s lots of blue in these works. The week I made Clouds over Blue Mesa, it actually rained couple times- hence the white cloud formations and lightening in the sepia area.

In July, I had the opportunity to ride around Sedona (super short visit) and loved the red and orange rock formations in the area. The main colors in Red Rock Vortex, were inspired from the drive down 89A and the numerous formations viewable from Chapel of the Holy Cross. I will go back for more views and hike in the vortexes!

In Evolution of Mountains, there are peaks, depressions, and inverted mountains. The evolution of a mountain takes millions of years, energy, and natural forces. It’s amusing to create mountains out of skies and skies out of mountains in this small collage.

I’ll get back to painting soon, but this series is bright, happy, and offers new perspectives.