Celebrating Endemic Species of Santa Catalina Island

Celebrating the Orange tip Butterfly
Oil on Canvas Panel
13 1/2” x 18”
$2300.00

A portrait of a girl who is mesmerized by the
beauty in the Catalina Orange Tip butterfly. 
The Catalina Orange Tip is one of two butterfly
species endemic to Catalina Island. 
caption

Guardian
Oil on Canvas
$3500.00

Inspired by the Catalina Island fox, endemic to the
island and having evolved into a unique species.  It
has taken over 4000 years of evolution to create the
island fox that we know today and was almost wiped
out in a matter of months by disease.  They have made
a speedy recovery through the efforts of the Catalina
Conservancy.  Guardian has been featured on the
cover of The Catalina Islander newspaper.

Island Fox
Oil on Canvas Panel
11” x 14”
$2300.00

I'm fascinated with the idea of painting extraordinary
things in mundane ways.  It makes the fantastic seem
more attainable.  In this case I painted a portrait of a
girl with a Catalina Island fox on her shoulders.
Those who know about the Island fox know that in
reality this wild animal is not something you would
want on your shoulders.  Island Fox has been featured
on the cover of The Catalina Islander newspaper.

In Celebration of the Catalina Manzanita.
Oil on Canvas Panel
13 1/2” x 18”
$2300.00

Framed in what appears to be a tree in plaster
bas-relief is the Manzanita tree nymph.   She is
reveling in the fruits of  this beautiful tree. 
This image has been featured on the cover of
The Catalina Islander newspaper.

These are my most resent paintings inspired by Santa Catalina Island and Mythology.

DeTail of Mermaid , oil on canvas - unstretched

Urban Mermaid, oil on canvas board

Island Made, oil on canvas board

Fin Dance, oil on canvas

Resonant Sea, oil and 23k gold leaf

Celebration of the Catalina Orangetip

Catalina Kelpie, oil on canvas board

Divine Zephyr, oil on canvas board

Catalina Snark Hunt, oil on canvas

Spring, oil on canvas

Fascinating, oil on canvas. This is my self portrait.

Winter, oil on canvas

 

Young Satyr, oil on canvas

 

 

Guardian, oil on canvas

 

Portrait of Ragen Clark. Oil on Canvas

To me it is always fun to see different sides of a personality in a portrait. We so often see a stayed regal pose of a person that portrays their professional alter ego. Because I love portraits and like to create little escapes from a hectic life myself, I decided to paint a person's alter ego at play.

I asked people what they liked to do for fun. And when I listened to their responses this is how I envisioned them at play.

Monkey-Do  - Oil on canvas

Professional ego: Project manager

Play Ego: Inserts monkeys everywhere she can 

HallADay

Professional ego: Spanish teacher

Play ego: Snorkeling

Applause - Oil on canvas

Professional ego: Hotel concierge
Play ego: Acts in community plays

Bat Fatale- Oil on canvas

Professional ego: Postmaster
Play ego: Dress as her icon

Create - O - Matic - Oil on canvas

Professional ego: Boat rental co. owner
Play ego: Rebuild cars  

Advancing Youth - Oil on canvas

Professional ego:Waste plant office management

Play ego: Astonish people

Fade to Gray - Oil on canvas

Professional ego: Real Estate Agent 
Play ego: Artist 

Older work

                                        

Torment, oil on canvas

Torment  - Oil on canvas.  the sublime is more than beauty. It is the result of an emotional response, to the passion of fear. It is often represented by vastness and magnificence but can be shown in the strongest emotion.  It has been purposed by Edmund Burke that "terror is the source of the sublime."  In this one can infer that when the momentary euphoria settles in, there is profound sense of contentment that we are not the ones experiencing the terror, then gives us pleasure.

Bed of Diversion, oil on canvas

 Bed of Diversion - Oil on canvas. This work is part of a series depicting mental escape.  How often have I been near a river just looking into its depths contemplating nothing…I cannot say.  To be able to relax and enjoy the moment makes me feel refreshed and ready, when I awake from my reverie for whatever may come next in life.  I'm intrigued with this idea of mental escape because so many of us spend many hours each day trying to do just that. Whether it is by watching TV or participating in extreme sports we all have some way of finding our escape. This is one in my series of three which holds different content than more recent paintings.  In an attempt to hold on to that moment, I have painted a shallow river that shows rocks just underneath the glistening surface and fresh water swirling around.  I painted the water with an abstract quality that allows me to get lost in the undulating movement of color and into my escape.