You’re invited! This August I will be the featured artist at the Lodi Community Art Center. You may remember my last featured show from May of 2019, where I displayed several vividly colored portraits and figure pieces. This time, I will be displaying both new works and several pieces that have been in my portfolio for some time, but have never been publicly displayed. Among them is one of my favorites, “Illuminate.” You can read more about its history here, but as a brief backstory, it is the first piece I completed after many years of not drawing at all, and I regard it as a sort of guardian of my art - hence its presence on my business cards, website, Facebook page, and basically all platforms where I display, discuss, and promote my work.

“Illuminate” Oil pastel on illustration board.

Recently I pulled this piece out of its safely stored place, spruced it up a bit, and rephotographed it. The restored image is above. I am very happy to see it a bit brighter, clearer, and at its most magical. This month I will finally get it framed!

My August show opens Friday, August 6th; opening reception 5:30-6:30pm. The show will be up through the month.

In addition to “Illuminate,” which is over a decade old and has never been publicly displayed, I will also be showing new works done in pen and colored pencil as well as never before displayed works from my portfolio in oil pastel, chalk pastel, and of course, my favorite - colored pencil.

The pieces I’ve selected for this show explore the psyche - what makes us think, feel, and why? What will we find when we dare to be our most introspective? How deep does our consciousness go?

Clockwise from top left: “Epiphany” pen and colored pencil; “Eyeris” colored pencil; “Tree Woman” chalk pastel; “Balance” pen and colored pencil.

Come out to Lodi on August 6th and see the whole show!

Lodi Community Art Center

110 W Pine Street, Downtown Lodi CA

Like a lot of people, I’ve had some extra time since mid-March. Luckily, extra time means extra art! I’ve been able to draw much more often than usual, so I’ve created a wide range of pieces, from floral still lifes to whimsical characters in a steampunk universe. I hope you enjoy them.

“Sunflowers” Colored pencil on Strathmore paper. Summer is just around the corner, and I wanted to make something bright and cheery. I enjoyed building the yellows and oranges in this piece, especially during the grayer days of March and April.

“Spring Dragon” Colored pencil on Strathmore paper. I do love this dragon character. It would be wonderful to be walking through a meadow on a bright spring day and see a dragon with a stack of books, all camped out for a day of reading.

“Sleeping Moon” Watercolor pencil on Bristol board. Since I was a little kid reading picture books, I’ve loved the image of a cozy crescent moon sleeping above the world at night.

“Crescent Moon” Watercolor pencil on Bristol board. Another cozy moon keeping watch over the world.

“Pilot” Colored pencil on Strathmore paper. This piece is part of a Steampunk show that two local artists and I are putting on in August of this year. I finished this piece first and began sketching others soon after. I did a couple of other port… — “Pilot” Colored pencil on Strathmore paper. This piece is part of a Steampunk show that two local artists and I are putting on in August of this year. I finished this piece first and began sketching others soon after. I did a couple of other portraits and ended up making both of them redheads, sort of accidentally. Then I thought it would be neat to show this same pilot through the years as she went on adventures and grew up. My goal by August is to have a wall of drawings documenting her escapades, so that viewers at the show will feel like they’re in her house, walking through her memories.