August 19, 2009
The Story Of Diego Rivera and Charisma
I always start my art residences, by giving a lecture on the lives of a few artists. I began one class by talking about the great Mexican muralist, Diego Riviera, partly because the class was
June 10, 2009
The Best Day Of My Life
At the beginning of many of my art residency, I have a color mixing session, as many of my students have never had an art class before so they have no knowledge of mixing colors.
May 28, 2009
Open Studio
The Open Studio at Hunters Point Ship Yard (www.hunterspointcommunity.com) was a great success. Some 400 people came to the building 116 studio 10 to see my work along with my studio mate Rob Cox. May
May 4, 2009
How I Ran Over My Own Painting
One day while driving outside of Taos, I spotted my next landscape to paint. I parked myself about 10 feet inside the entrance of a dirt road. I quickly unloaded my painting materials and set-up
March 2, 2009
The Woman And The Bear
A few years back, I won the Helene Wurlitzer award for painting; the prize was a three-month residency in Taos, New Mexico. One day, I found myself painting just at the edge of town when
February 26, 2009
Landscape Painting
I have always found power, energy, and inspiration from the locations that I use as subjects for my paintings. It is the give and take from the view where I stand, the time of day,
February 25, 2009
More thoughts on teaching
I find gratification in the moments of joy and pride that emerge from the students when they discover something new from their work. I like to unlock their creativity so it becomes a tangible work
February 3, 2009
Notes on a Residency
One of my most successful residencies came recently at a school in Novato. The PTA had funded my residency and also bought 36 – 4’x 8 feet wooden panels for a huge mural project. The
February 2, 2009
Thoughts on Teaching Art – pt. 2
I have seen directly what art and creativity can do for a student. Often the students I teach have never had art lessons so their first introduction to art is discovery in visual wonderment and
January 31, 2009