The Invisible Thread

Artist Statement:

My Show ” The Invisible Thread” is a playful and joyful celebration of the interconnectedness of life. Our own lives are connected to each other and each event of our lives is connected to the next, sometimes in unseen ways.

With this idea in mind, this series of paintings was not painted consecutively.. Instead, I bounced between canvases allowing each layer of acrylic paint to dry. The paint remaining when and image was completed became the beginning of the next painting. The result of this process is an “invisible thread” of paint that ties all these pieces together in a fluid but cohesive manner.

In life there are many moments that are seemingly unconnected, when actually they are all joined by and “invisible thread” leading us to the next moment and to each other.

Forests are a beautiful place of connectivity. Not only are they a vital part of ecosystems, but they themselves are connected. Trees stalk to each other by a network, sending chemicals and slow pulsing electrical signals.

As a celebration of this connection, this painting was done using a pattern of verticals and circles on the surface of the canvas to suggest space and depth, while playfully using pattern to add further interest to the piece.

The rain forests on Earth are some of the most biodiverse places on the planet. More than 1500 flowering plants can be found in four square miles in the rain forest!

Celebrating this biodiversity, this painting is a cacophony of color and pattern, unified by the circles repeated across the surface of the canvas.

When the birds start migrating in the fall, I find myself having an intense desire to follow, to wander.

With that idea of wanderlust in mind I have painted this piece with a lot of movement, echoed in the painted vining branches.

There is a giant Tulip Poplar behind my house that is over a hundred feet tall! It amazed me that the pattern for that giant tree is written in the tiny seeds that spiral down.

The “tree cell” in this painting was created by first allowing the paint to run horizontally, then vertically before adding the ridged details that mimic the edge of the leaf. The paint drips can also be found in the background of the piece.

Rain is Mother Nature’s white noise machine. Occurring at a slightly lower frequency, the sound of rain allows our minds to wander or even enter meditation and can lead to creativity.

In this painting I have used multiple layers in various shades of blue and small circles to evoke the feeling of water. The patterned dabs of paint and circles scratched into the surface of the canvas are reminiscent of water drops. I have then painted a whimsical foreground of waterlilies in jeweled tones of pink to add warmth and depth.

A celebration painting for a dear friend of mine who completed a 200-hour yoga training course. Using mental, physical and spiritual practices, yoga is aimed at stilling the mind and at self-consciousness.

Sitting in the yoga pose call Sukhasana, the painting show a figure seated, resting in balance with her external environment, enlightenment.

In the mid-summer, when the air is thick with humidity, the haziness makes the hum of the cicadas reverberate.

I tried to mimic this heaviness in the air and the sound through my paint combinations. The greens provide a haziness to the piece, punctuated by golden dabs.

Through photosynthesis, trees take carbon dioxide out of the air and change it into oxygen, thus allowing us to breathe. In this way, our very breath is connected to the world around us.

To create the feeling of light shining through a wood, I have painted the background in warm golden shades of yellow punctuated with green, which I’ve allowed to drip down canvas and create depth. The foreground of cooler tones and patterned spacing of trees, interspersed with dabs and circles encourages the eye to travel across the field of view.

This painting was inspired by a moment in time, during a very difficult period in my life when I sensed everything was going to be okay, It was a poignant moment for me and one I have tried to capture in art multiple times. The light shone through the wood and glistened off the trees in such a way that I could see “the invisible thread” that had led me to that moment. The thread would continue to steer me towards better times in the future. I believe this was a message from the Divine.

This painting is an attempt at a painted snapshot of that moment. The golden yellow paint is rhythmically dabbed between the portrayed forest trunks that echo a rhythm of their own and are further bejeweled with small patches of gold.

This painting was inspired by a song by Teyana Taylor called “A Rose in Harlem” which is about beauty surviving in a harsh concrete environment and striving through adversity.

A structured background to represent the city was created by allowing the paint to run horizontally, then vertically, making a grid. It was then overlaid with patterned squares. The vining rose is painted in the foreground in a more organic way, with blossoms on the ends of the painted branches.

To create this “dreamscape” I began with a very broadly painted background. I then covered it with dabs of paint I let run down the canvas. The cohesiveness of the piece is created by the repetition of shapes and colors across the space.

The clouds above us are formed by water evaporating off the ocean, moving inland. Rain then falls and flows into the water systems, once again to become the sea.

I wanted to mimic this cycle in my painting with circular movements and repetition of circles and brush strokes. Life too is a cycle… Go with the flow!

After it rains on dry soil, the earthy smell in the air is called “petrichor”. When rain lands on the porous ground small air bubbles are formed that float up and release the scent. It is one of my most favorite smells on Earth!

To depict this phenomenon, I first painted the background in lighter tones overlaid with dripping blue paint. Further layers of small dabs of paint and circles were then added along with the painted trees and foliage.

The desert is a wild place! Distance and light can play tricks on the eyes. Mirages can be seen especially in the heat.

This mirage-like painting was created by first painting a base coat, then overlaying that with paint I watered down and allowed to run across the surface of the canvas after turning it horizontally. I also intermittently painted large bold circles and smaller more evenly spaced ones to add depth. The bare branches also add to the overall wild feeling of this painting.

The change of seasons is a gradual change, a slow progression of warmer days into cooler.

This painting is a gradual progression from left to right of mostly warmer tones, to cooler ones. The trees are painted with a warmer mottled layer of paint overlaid with a cooler ones. The multiple layers of paint drips, dabs and circles give the piece a sense of movement.

Sometimes spending a day outside is the perfect way to recharge. In fact, just the act of sitting or walking outside barefoot, transfers surface electrons from the Earth into the body. Grounding can provide a natural healing energy.

I wanted to depict a sense of adventure and space, as well as the passage of time. The drips of paints in the background, painted over multiple layers, help to add dimension and interest. A middle ground for the piece in the broad circles, impressionistic suns and bare branches encourage the viewer’s eyes to travel around the canvas. Furthermore, the broad vertical dabs and lines, and the lotus pods in the foreground add to the wildness of this painting.

A plant that has almost become synonymous with Africa in my memory, acacias are a hardy tree which provides shade and shelter in harsh environments. Because of its evergreen nature, the acacia has become a symbol for renewal and regeneration.

The base of this painting is a warm layer of orange which has been allowed to run horizontally. I have then added several layers of contrasting blue, running that vertically to create a “mirage of trees” in the background. The acacia tree in the foreground has been added, along with vegetation and patterned blue and yellow to create dimension.

One of the oldest animals on the planet, jellyfish can be found pulsing along many ocean currents. A free-floating marine creature, the jellyfish quite literally “goes with the flow”.

I began this piece by painting a base of mauve and coral orange, followed by multiple passes of fluid paint which I allowed to run horizontally. I then added multiple dabs of blue and green to create a mottled effect, before finishing the painting with two impressionistic jellyfish.

For plants, the death of vegetation is an essential part of new growth. Dying to change and growth. For myself, I have come tow discover that the end of things