Blog
Two special October events…
A special collaboration between Appalachian Voices and my “Coal” Series will occur on Thursday, October 12 in San Francisco.
Fireside Chat with Dr. James Gordon on trauma on Saturday October 14.
The Healing Power of Art
I have been processing and trying to heal a recent traumatic experience by drawing, drawing, and drawing some more. This gallery of 51 pen and ink drawings were spontaneously created during a three-month span of time starting in January 2023.
Veterans Day
I grieve for those who have felt, and currently experience, the pain of losing someone to the moral and physical injuries suffered in wars and conflict. My sadness is profound, and I am extremely grateful that I can pour some of that grief into my artwork.
Both Sides Now
My work and my writing often reflect current situations and events. The painting, "Both Sides Now", reflects the flooding happening in Eastern Kentucky, another example of how real life can inform my art.
Radioactive Heads
In my series of nuclear concerns, I felt a need for a human presence in my artwork referencing nuclear radioactivity. As a result, I decided to paint on some plastic mannequin heads instead of on canvas or paper.
That’s how the light gets in.
These days, even a small mental shift can help one disconnect from the tensions and sorrows caused by constant ingesting of extremely troublesome narratives.
MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY!
Using my creativity to bring visual awareness to worldwide problematic human issues. This month’s art tip: layering.
Dust to Dust
Some years ago, I decided to create artwork referencing the dangers of nuclear experimentation…
Welcome to my new website!
Welcome to my newly updated website, to the new month, to a new blog post, and hopefully to a new spirit this year!
These Days
Doing art--using art as my voice--helps keep me directed and grounded despite being worried and deeply saddened about the troubling state of affairs in the world. The two paintings posted here—“Bleeding Tree and Fire” and “The Flag, the Church and the Military” reflect my concerns and help me to document, in my own way, these days.
Zion as Sanctuary
With the frightening realities of the COVID-19 pandemic occurring at a time when we need to find solace in nature’s gifts, many of the parks throughout our land have been partly shuttered. In looking ahead, I am hopeful for the joyous occasions when everyone can revisit the lands and enjoy the bountiful beauty.
America's National Parks #2
Just sitting back watching TV and devouring countless news articles about how challenging this chapter of our history is at the moment is not an option. Instead, I create art to help raise awareness about my concerns for our planet’s survival.
Radiation Alert
Ever since the March 11, 2011 triple meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants in Japan — arguably the worst nuclear disaster on planet earth — my art has focused on various aspects of nuclear energy. Worries about nuclear radiation effects haunt me. As a result I have been creating artworks exploring the complicated results of radiation due to the meltdowns.
Nuclear Power
For many years I have been making art reflecting my concern about man-made climate and land destruction. In the past I painted a series about the Iraq war; the melting of ice; and the dire plastic pollution saturation. Then one day, seemingly out of the blue, I had the clear inspiration to confront my worries about nuclear radioactivity… something I knew very little about.
A New Blog Series: Nuclear Power, Radiation and Toxic Mining
Entering the arena of nuclear power discussions is like walking into an amphitheater deeply flooded with doubt, controversy, contradictions and alarm.
As an artist, I have chosen to tread into the waters of painting the source of atomic energy — uranium – and document some effects of radiation poisoning.
Our National Parks
While taking some quiet time this past June to experience Zion and Bryce National Parks in Utah, I was able to experience some much needed inner strength, peace and sustenance. I returned to my studio and completed work reflecting my concern about the Trump administration’s plan to practically silence the Environmental Protection Agency.
Seeds of Change
During the pre-election days this fall, I worked on this oil painting which I titled “Seeds of Change”. The art piece was initially intended to be a happy, bright painting of beautiful apple blossoms. However as talk of bitterness, fear and hatred reverberated everywhere, my painting became grayer and duller until ultimately the blossoms became almost entirely grey.
Timeless Wisdom
This painting results from a powerful experience I had sitting quietly in the midst of some of the oldest geology on our planet. While staring at dramatic 165 million-year-old Jurassic-aged cliffs at Ghost Ranch, in Abiquiu, New Mexico, I kept being drawn to a hollowed-out section that seemed to contain a sculpted figure.
Fukushima Daiichi Radiation: THIS LAND IS NO-MAN'S LAND
My painting, “This Land is No-Man’s Land”, depicts a segment of destroyed and abandoned land in the Japanese Fukushima Prefecture.