...And the Patches Make the Goodbyes Harder Still...

Once I dreamed I was a butterfly, and now I no longer know whether I am Chuang Tzu, who dreamed I was a butterfly, or whether I am a butterfly dreaming that I am Chuang Tzu." -Chuang Tzu

"...AND THE PATCHES MAKE THE GOODBYES HARDER STILL" 2005

detail of 20" x 48" diptych

acrylic on canvas

SOLD

private collector, Marinal Del Rey, CA

This was a really neat painting... a large abstract diptych with realistic looking painted denim covered in both painted and real patches... a tribute to my favorite bluejeans from the '60's.

Oh very young

What will you leave us this time

You're only dancing on this earth for a short while

And though your dreams may toss and turn you now

They will vanish away, like your daddy's best jeans

Denim blue, fading up to the sky

And though you want them to last forever

You know they never will

You know they never will

And the patches make the goodbye harder still-

CAT STEVENS

"FOREVER AUTUMN" 1997
22" artglass panel

As promised, here's a detail of my flower artglass panel... lots of glass pieces!... i love the colors in this window... the circular highlights in the flower's center are small faceted topaz jewels.

This photo shows the amazing glow this window produces when the afternoon sun begins to set behind it... the entire studio is filled with brilliant red, orange and gold streaks....it is truly breathtaking and one of my favorite times of day to be in my studio.... if you look closely at my easel you can see i was working on 'NIGHT NIGHT LITTLE SIS' at the time i took this picture.

I love my studio!

This is the southeast corner of my studio... my main easel is just out of this picture, on the right, facing my Eames chair...the sunflower lamp on the table is one of my original designs, from my lamp making days... the studio is a good size, 14' x 18', but half of it is still occupied by my artglass... 3 work benches, glass storage bins from small to good size sheets, tools, light tables and such... i haven't worked on any new artglass in the last 4 years, but i can't seem to bring myself to say i'm done with that form of expression... if and when i do, i'll have a heck of a painting studio, with tons of room, but for now i am a little cramped in here... i love the smell of this room... it still smells like an artglass studio and every single time i walk in, i feel peaceful... it also has a great stereo to play my current favorites while i paint... I LOVE THIS SPACE!

There was a time, over a decade ago, when i was really into sunflowers, so consequently i received a lot of sunflower related stuff for my birthdays, Christmas and such... the sunflower things seen in this studio shot are a few of my favorites i've kept from that period...i am not a person who wants to be defined by the collections i keep, so if i start to have too many of any one thing, i will downsize to a favorite few....... i've kept the sentimental sunflower things that my kids and friends have given me, including a handmade blanket that Eva made for me and the two foot long blown glass sunflower gift my friend Rob Cuttieta brought me from the chicago museum of art... because of it's fragile nature and size he had to hand carry it all the way back to tucson on his flight home from chicago (thanks rob, i love it).

In my next post i will feature the west side of my studio, or more specifically, the west window in my studio.... i have artglass panels in all my studio windows, but the one in the west window is unique... every afternoon as the sun sets, it fills the studio with an amazing magical glow... it's really something special.

"ANNIE" ...also know as 'the boudge dog'

"ANNIE" ...also know as 'the boudge dog'

~a work in progress~

I am currently working on a half dozen new paintings, all in various states of completion... sometimes, when i start spending too much time on a painting, i begin to paint in circles, with little progress and poor results... so i step away from it for a while... i put it aside.......if i find i still want to continue painting during that session, i'll start playing with another 'work in progress'... often times, after i've finished playing with some of these different canvases, i'll return to the painting i put aside and be amazed at how clearly i can now see what the next step will be.

"REFLECTIONS" 2005

18" x 24" x 1.5"

acrylic on canvas

SOLD

Bennett collection, Woodinville, WA