ORIGINALS |
These paintings are original, one-of-a-kind pieces of art. Each is painted on quality canvas or wood panel and ready to hang or frame. If you are interested in a particular piece and would like additional photos, please email me. And check back frequently, as I'm always creating new work!
Click on the image for details. If a painting is currently on display, it will be noted in the popup,
and the venues are listed on the Retail Locations page.
2021 COLLECTION
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastel on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Signed, titled & dated on back; wired and ready to hang.
This is a paintover from a piece in my 2018 collection that was living with my sister. When she returned it, I knew it needed a new life. I painted it side-by-side with "If We Tried" and used the same color palette as a much larger commission piece I was working on. These two lay on the floor underneath, and quickly came together as a beautiful matching pair that could easily stand alone. I named them as one whole sentence, but love that if they were alone, a new sentence could be formed. (Because this has an entire finished painting under it, the texture is just amazing.)
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastel on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Signed, titled & dated on back; wired and ready to hang.
This is a paintover from a piece in my 2018 collection that was living with my sister. When she returned it, I knew it needed a new life. I painted it side-by-side with "I Wonder What Would Happen" and used the same color palette as a much larger commission piece I was working on. These two lay on the floor underneath, and quickly came together as a beautiful matching pair that could easily stand alone. I named them as one whole sentence, but love that if they were alone, a new sentence could be formed. (Because this has an entire finished painting under it, the texture is just amazing.)
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastel on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Signed, titled & dated on back; wired and ready to hang.
Mérida is a beautiful, laid back, colonial city in the Yucatan peninsula. Even though it's a large capital city, it has maintained the charm of a smaller town because of the rich Mayan history and colonial architecture. It's a blend of gorgeous tropical jungle and vibrant city life, and that's the way this painting feels to me.
Acrylic & oil pastel on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Signed, titled & dated on back; wired and ready to hang.
If you have been to Tulum, you will feel it in this piece. It's the only Mayan site located on the ocean, so you have these sacred grounds perched on the cliffs in a lush green jungle, overlooking the deep turquoise Caribbean waters. If you manage to avoid the loads of tourists these days, it's worth a trip here to enjoy Mexico’s natural beauty & fascinating history.
Acrylic on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Signed, titled & dated on back; wired and ready to hang.
This piece is a joyful combination of excitement and relaxation, notably felt when I drive past the city streets and head into nature. I love the city, but as soon as the roads open and there is more space...peace overcomes me. Whether it's the ocean, the mountains, the desert or the countryside...they all fill me up with love, and I'm grateful they're all just a short drive away.
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastel on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Signed, titled & dated on back; wired and ready to hang.
Energetic, magical, serene, stormy, mysterious, hungry and relentless, majestically beautiful, vast and calm, mesmerizingly peaceful - as wild as the ocean.
Acrylic, graphite & oil pastel on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Signed, titled & dated on back; wired and ready to hang.
It's the most important, selfless, courageous, healing, necessary and beautiful love. It's joy, harmony, compassion and inner peace. It's romantic, just like this piece.
Acrylic & oil pastel on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Signed, titled & dated on back; wired and ready to hang.
Painted in January, when my family is usually down in Mexico for our annual vacation. Missing those slow days and daily siestas in the hammocks. This piece takes me from our villa's terracotta floors, on the grey cobblestone walkway, to the golden sand, into a soft white rope hammock tied with worn leather under the palm frond palapa. Heaven.
2020 COLLECTION
Acrylic & oil pastels on canvas, framed in 1.5" deep natural douglas fir float frame; wired and ready to hang.
This piece embodies the feeling of being wrapped in complete joy and contentment of the present moment. When you’re in a place that you love, with people you love, and you want to press pause. Whether it’s an everyday simple feeling or an exciting new feeling, you know in your heart, in that moment, that there is no place in the world you’d rather be.
Acrylic, oil & chalk pastels on canvas, framed in 1.5" deep natural douglas fir float frame; wired and ready to hang.
This one was painted between two wonderful girls weekends with lifelong friends. A LOT of day drinking was involved...one weekend filled with wine tasting in Northern California, and one weekend filled with cocktails by the beach in Southern California. Drinking in the sunshine with girlfriends, surrounded by nature's beauty...it just can't get any better!
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
There's something about the comfort of a late-night conversation that makes us open up more and feel at ease sharing the "real things" we often don't share in the daylight hours. Maybe it's the stillness of the night, or maybe it's just that there's nothing to distract us, but these conversations always seem to be deeper, more intimate and more honest. You aren't even thinking about losing sleep, because time stands still.
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels and pieces of painted canvas on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around sides. Wired and ready to hang.
The best part about wine tasting at wineries is that it's never rushed. It's a slow process of chatting with wine makers (who are usually very passionate about their craft) while sipping different wines and often snacking too. I could linger there for hours, but at some point we have to stop because we usually need to get to the next tasting room!
Acrylic & oil pastel on 1.5" gallery canvas in a 2" deep natural maple float frame. Wired and ready to hang.
This was inspired by a documentary on the Afro-Brazilian street food in Salvador, Brazil. I was so inspired by the colorful culture and history of Salvador, the passionate people and the life they live on the bay (bahia de todos os santos). This piece is my own expression of both the calm and energy of Salvador de Bahia.
Acrylic & oil pastel on 1.5" gallery canvas in a 2" deep natural maple float frame. Wired and ready to hang.
A quiet mind is a space where fresh ideas, creativity and contentment have room to grow. If we can give some attention to the space between that endless reel of thoughts (mental noise!), our sense of peace will increase. I'm definitely no expert on this, but I'm always trying to mind the gap!
Acrylic, oil pastel & pieces of painted canvas on gallery canvas, framed in 2.5" deep natural maple float frame; wired and ready to hang.
If I have met you or seen you before, you will most definitely appear in my dreams. I dream vividly every single night, and always remember my dreams; they are never reality and always crazy. Sometimes I wish I didn't dream, as I always feel tired when I wake up because I've been so active all night...but most people say I'm lucky.
Acrylic, oil pastel & pieces of painted canvas on gallery canvas, framed in 2.5" deep natural maple float frame; wired and ready to hang.
This piece took me on quite a ride, and adding the cut-out canvas shapes was a spontaneous move at the end of it all. When I looked at the collage of colors and movement, it made me think of travel...especially long road trips on the open road. The Walt Whitman poem "Song of the Open Road" is one of my favorites, and it just had to be the name for this!
Acrylic & oil pastel on 1.5"" gallery canvas; wired and ready to hang.
I painted this piece while listening to the soulful voice of Michael Kiwanuka, so it only seemed fitting to name it after one of his songs. "Tell Me a Tale" is a song about being true to yourself...
Paint me a picture that I can see
Give me a touch that I can feel
Turn me around so I can be
Everything I was meant to be"
Acrylic on 1.5" deep canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
Painted during the best month in San Diego…between warm beach days & cool nights by the fire pit, suntea & hot lattes, sundresses & sweats. Hello beautiful October.
Acrylic, graphite & oil pastel on canvas in 2.5" deep maple float frame. Wired and ready to hang.
457 miles is the distance, door-to-door, from my house in San Diego to my parents' house where I grew up in the Bay Area. I've been doing this drive over thirty years now and I still love it...maybe because it's going "home" but also because California is gorgeous. And don't even get me started on the coastal route...an hour or two longer but one of the most beautiful drives in the world!
Acrylic & oil pastel on 1.5" deep canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
Acrylic & oil pastel on 1.5" deep canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang. I painted this in early November, while thinking of family and friends I haven't seen in a long time. This "year of covid" sure has made us appreciate the ones we love even more! The phrase "I'm never not thinking of you." kept floating around in my head as I painted, and I suddenly felt grateful that I can express my feelings through my art. This upcoming Thanksgiving holiday won't be the same, but at least we have zoom!
Acrylic & oil pastel on 1.5" deep raw canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
To me, unfamiliar places are exhilarating! I come alive in a new place, as it involves everything I love…meeting new people, learning the lay of the land, discovering new scents, sounds, tastes and hidden treasures. My favorite thing in the world is waking up in an unfamiliar place, knowing the whole day is full of "unknowns" and so much to learn.
Acrylic & oil pastel on 1.5" deep raw canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
Not only is this piece (and its partner, "Unfamiliar Places") a new endeavor for me because it's the first time I painted on raw canvas, but it just feels romantic to me. I immediately thought of one of my favorite quotes by Ernest Hemingway, “Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the romance of the unusual.”
Acrylic on 1.5" deep cradled wood panel in 2.5" deep douglas fir float frame. Wired and ready to hang.
Created while listening to Van Halen, the week EVH passed away. Growing up in the 80s meant Van Halen was always on the radio, on casettes in the car and played at school dances. What an amazing rocker and so fun to sing to...girl, you really got me now...you got me so I don't know what I'm doin.
Acrylic & oil pastel on 1.5" deep canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
This is the ultimate feeling for me...knowing that I'm going somewhere I've never been. The anticipation is often better than the act itself, as I have definitely been let down, but just the idea of seeing somthing new is so exciting. And being somewhere I've never been, whether a local neighborhood or a new country, is exhilirating. New people to talk to, new sights, smells and sounds...it all evokes so many emotions. If I ever feel restless, I simply get in the car and drive somewhere I've never been.
2019 COLLECTION
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
This piece is on its third life, starting in 2015, then 2017, now 2019. If a painting hasn't found a home within two years, sometimes even less, I want to give it another chance! And because of all the hours spent on this gem...and falling in love with the final results, its name came to me loud and clear! You know those people and places you just never get enough time with? I feel like that with some of my paintings.
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
"Buena vista" means "good view" in Spanish, and this just reminds me of being outside surrounded by beauty. Nature's backdrop of rolling hills, mountains, boulders, foliage and unexpected surprises tucked in-between them all.
Acrylic & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
Stories from time in Cozumel, especially scuba diving, made their way to this canvas. The warm, humid air wrapped around ocean breezes and soft white sands, swimming deep in the Caribbean Sea, marveling in the reefs of sealife and exploring nearby ancient ruins and jungles in the Yucatan. Just another Mexican paradise to steal my heart and add to my lifelong memories.
Acrylic & chalk pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
Isn't there always more to tell, more to share, more to open up to vulnerability, more to make the story complete? But then we wouldn't be walking around this Earth with a story to tell. Our own story that nobody really knows.
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
You know those people you meet that you feel for sure were put in your life for a reason? They were. They are there for the reason you need them to be there. There are no coincidences, just messages for us to carry along and learn from. Everything is connected.
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
This one took a few weeks of living in my kitchen before deciding who it was. But as I stared at it daily, the colors, marks and circles reminded me of people and connections and love. This magical combination that threads us together into ONE human race. Everything is interconnected.
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
This was inspired by ten days on the road this summer, through the beautiful landscapes of my homestate, California. I'm so incredibly happy on the road, soaking in nature, architecture, people, animals, colors, textures and art (both natural and manmade!) Each day presents a new discovery. I am also extremely happy with ten days in Mexico, ten days of sunshine, ten days of any kind of travel, ten days of painting...just to name a few.
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
Being surrounded by puffy pink and white trees feels like something out of a fairy tale. There is something so magical about being beneath the cherry tree in full bloom. It’s on my bucket list to visit Japan during their spring cherry blossom festival - Hanami. I’ve heard countless stories of celebrations from my former Japanese students and I must experience this beautiful tradition.
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; framed in 2.5" deep douglas fir float frame. Wired and ready to hang.
Spellbound = held by or as if by a spell; captivated, enchanted. This piece was a different direction and vibe for me, and I felt almost as if I was in a trance as my hands and brushes danced around. I worked on it for weeks, then one day I put it on the floor and just painted white all over it; that's what it took to finally bring it together!
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" cradled birch wood panel; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
This one was on a good path, then a migraine killed my creative flow. When I got back in the studio, I felt a big release of good energy just being poured into this. Colors and marks emerged quickly and suddenly this bright, happy piece was in front of me. As most pieces do, it changed a lot from its initial look, but it felt really good and I felt really good. Any chronic headache/migraine sufferer will attest to the fact you feel like you have superpowers after getting through a bad headache. Painting is so therapeutic...good juju for sure!
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
I love that this one single word makes me think of endless things: the once's I've had; the once's I would love to have; the once's I would never, ever want to repeat; the once's I missed...and those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that can't ever be repeated. It's all a reminder that I'm here...living, not just existing. You only live once, right?
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" cradled birch wood panel; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
You know the one. She walks with confidence, she's sexy and radiant, she's feminine and graceful, yet strong enough to be vulnerable. She takes your breath away when she walks in the room. That's how this painting feels to me...feminine and bold.
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
Inspired by long road trips and all the beauty captured while soaking up different landscapes...deserts, mountains, sky and sea...a blur of nature's color palettes. I like the driver's seat, but being the passenger allows for more daydreaming and cloud gazing!
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
I wasn't planning on an "oceany" feel for this one, but the blues, greens and waves appeared amidst the neutrals and browns. Suddenly, I was on a winding road, driving along the cliffs with the wind blowing in my hair and the smell of the ocean permeating the air. On a Sunday. On a warm summer evening right before sunset. And then the daydream ended, I finished the painting, and drove straight to the sea!
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" gallery canvas; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
My fifteen year old daughter has had a passion for music since she was born. It's everything to her, and music is always playing in our home. There's a lot of it I don't care for, but she often introduces me to a musician or song that I just love. This piece got its name from the song "The Story Never Ends" by Lauv, who I listened to while finishing this painting.
Acrylic, chalk & oil pastels on 1.5" cradled birch wood panel; colors wrap around the sides. Wired and ready to hang.
Experiencing new places gets me so excited. And when a place captures me with its beauty, energy, uniqueness and atmosphere (good food and drinks are icing on the cake!) I can barely contain myself. Like when a restaurant does it right - the design, ambiance, food, drinks and service are all perfection. I just want to linger there all day, soaking it in. And then I want to share this place with others!