I have done my kids’ portraits about every other year three times now. It’s a nice way to see their growth as well as my improving skills. This was my first time working with soft pastels. The learning curve was rough and had me reconsidering my choices to pursue a career in art. I think I was just being overly dramatic.
Using wood and metal we were asked to solve a problem, either real or imagined. I solved four with this sculpture. I was out of money, feeling like I didn’t get enough wood shop, and uninterested in welding. To solve the money problem I acquired almost all of my materials from the scrap bin at school. To fill in some gaps in my educational experience I decided to try my hand at dove-tailing and laminate joinery. To express my disdain for welding I decided to embrace the sputter and ploppiness of my welds and turn them into birds. For my fourth “problem” I decided to give the birds on the bottom wire a welcome shelter from the poop of the birds above.
I had a lot of fun doing this sculpture.
Eat You Up, 2015, Acrylic on Board, 24 x 30
Before you get the wrong idea, let me explain. The assignment was Food. I have a love/infatuation with arms and every summer when my children start wearing short sleeves I can’t help myself from nibbling a little. I had intended on including my daughter in the picture but after drawing it I realized it was sentimental to me, but likely to bore everyone else. So I just left her out altogether. What’s left is a darkly comical (my favorite kind of comedy) image that speaks to the sort of love hate/relationship parents, particularly lonely housewives, may have with their children.
In metal shop our assignment was to build a cage. This was my first time welding so for some reason I decided to build a 36 inch cube. Let’s just say I spent a lot of time grinding bad welds.
Cage, 2015, Steel Aluminum Paint, 36 x 36 x 36
After a super frustrating time welding on my first project I decided to try and a have a little fun with the next one. The assignment was to achieve a sense of actual balance or implied balance. I spent so long welding and polishing the 25 pound base that I didn’t get to spend as much time making the paper look as papery as I wanted to, but the results are descent. Credit to my son for the awesome sketches.
This process included welding, sandblasting, heat bending, and image transfer.
With the shadow sculpture I wanted to play around with the limits of getting something as small as possible to be as big as possible, which lead me to thoughts of how we often make our problems seem a lot bigger than they really are. If I had a bigger wall, a bigger distance, and a brighter light I think the ratio of smallest to biggest would have been even more exciting.
Myth and Prescription, 2015, Acrylic on Board, 24 x 36
The assignment was to depict Myth using two human figures. I chose to go with myth as in stories that we tell and hand down one to another and apply a prescriptive quality to them. The irony in this image is that if you are trying to obtain a prescription, something designed specifically for you, shouldn’t you look with your own eyes?
I tried a different technique than usual, using transparent paint and graphite together, to obtain a more illustrative look that would be reminiscent of Norman Rockwell.
Janene, 2015, Acrylic on Canvas Board, 18 x 24
Since I felt that my self portrait got overworked I tried to do this one quick and loose. I painted white gesso over it and started over again only 6 days before it was due. I was having a really hard time letting go of the meticulous thin layering that I was doing with the self portrait and it was causing me to rethink my entire career path. Luckily that lasted less than 24 hours. Haha. I was able to collect myself and paint this in about three days.
Selfie with Nest, 2014, Acrylic on Board, 18 x 24
As with a lot of my art, this one involves a pun. You know “wears your heart on your sleeve”? Well, I guess you could say I wear my nest on my head…being that I’m a stay at home mom returning to school after 9 years.
I finished this painting in my spring figure painting class. While I’m proud of it I also feel like it got overworked.
Bass, 2011, Acrylic on Canvas, 24 x 24
Something about the contrast of an electric guitar and a tubby man in overalls really made me chuckle.
Old Janky Bus, 2010, Acrylic on Board, 24 x 30
I painted this for my dear friend Rae. One of the first paintings I have done that I have been really proud of. I took the original image down in Pleasant Grove somewhere and decided to only paint a portion of the bus. The three lights interested me the most.
Toot, 2008, Colored Pencil on Paper, 11 x 14
This colored pencil was done from a photo taken by Rod Santiano.
Peas, 2005, Oil Pastel on Collaged Paper, 11 x 14
I made this while taking care of my grandma in Indiana for two weeks. I sold it about 2 years later to Salt Lake Community College. It hangs in their culinary arts building.
Cloverdale, Oil Pastel on Collaged Paper, 8 x 10, 2006
I grew up in Kentucky. We never had to water our lawns and we never fertilized them which resulted in most of the "grass" being just clover.
This piece is featured in Prismacolor’s 2009 Calendar and on their website.
This mock for an RFP out of Salt Lake Community College College of Business, Salt Lake City, UT was a mural depicting the history of capitalism in the United States. I sketched images that represented capitalism through invention, revolution, innovation, and consumer culture.
The completed mural would have been approximately 12′ x 30′.
This mock was for an RFP out of Park City, UT for their ice arena. I wanted to show the direct interaction that the respective athletes have with the ice.
Each image was to be printed on large vinyl banners and hung on the interior arena walls.
