Greener Grass

oil on canvas, 36"x48", 2021

I started painting this in April 2021, when we came back to school in-person part time. To see students play together and to have a routine outside of the house again, amidst the bloom of spring, stirred up so much promise.

Rockaway Phase

oil on canvas, 20"x40", 2021

I was dipping into reserves of joy: playing cards with friends at the beach, being in my hometown friend’s apartment, hikes and views of mountains. The character is of a Baba Yaga witch from Slavic folklore, based off a coin bank of mine. It’s cute and weird and makes me smile.

Soon-to-be Innocent Fun

oil on canvas, 24"x36", 2021

I was wondering how interactions would look different on the other side of a global public health emergency. I looked forward to time spent together being more precious and intentional. It felt like a wrapped present just out of reach. I referenced a vintage photo of the Grand Canyon, and the mountains are from photographs of forts I had made for my two new kittens. The title is Lent from Arthur Russel’s song, Soon to Be Innocent Fun / Let’s See

Something Like a Garden

up-cycled mixed media on paper pulp, 12"x20"

2021

Old Growth

oil on canvas, 24"x36"

2020

Swiftsure

oil on canvas, 48"x108", 2020

I’d been thinking of Swiftsure Bank, which brings water into Seattle from the Pacific, and its similar structure to the latchkey kid cul-de-sac of my childhood, Mulberry Court. Reminiscing on that kid-made community made me long for more and reinforced adult bonds. I used reference images taken by family or me that reminded me of connection or restriction from it.

Shortly before and shortly after beginning this painting, I unexpectedly lost a close friend and my cat. This painting holds a lot of that initial grieving period, and in a way became about that grief too.

Sentinel 5: Excelsis (Hello Stranger)

2020