The Birth of Ideas

Mind Box III: The Birth of Ideas 

14 x 14 x 5. Acrylic paint on repurposed objects; eggshells, shadow box with sketches and ideas for a painting and a string of LED lights.  

Buck Dancing in a Holler to a Banjo Playing Black Bear on the Busk

Buck Dancing in a Holler to a Banjo Playing Black Bear on the Busk 

48 x 60 Oil on Canvas

Sheep and the Willfully Blind

Sheep and the Willfully Blind.  18 x 24. Oil on Canvas.

Guitar Heaven

Guitar Heaven. 14" x 17" Pencil drawing. 

Trying for a little closure after my son, Marty's death. He would have gotten a chuckle out of this one.  

Truth is the Daughter of Time

This painting is based on an old proverb of unknown origin.

Truth is the  Daughter of Time. Oil on Canvas. 48" X 60". 

Family Matters

Family Matters. Oil on Canvas 48" x 36".

The Brothers

The Brothers. Oil on Canvas 36" x 24". 

Subtle Goddess

Subtle Goddess. 48" x 32". Acrylic on Canvas.  $400.

Mind Boxes and Painting Series

Mind Box 1. Found and constructed objects in a box.  The mind box is a visual stream of consciousness tool for a series of  3 paintings inspired by a visit to the Solheimajokull Glacier in Iceland. There are rocks, seeds, human migration paths,  mini prints of paintings I've done and photos I've taken, images of and by my deceased son, a quote by Krishnamurti, images of Snowflake Bentley's photos of snowflakes, a mini skeleton, DNA strand, linoleum block print of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and other items. Although some of the items seem to have nothing to do with glaciers, they connect in my own mind. Click  'read more' to see the rest of the continuing series.

Ice Cave Dream Triptych. Oil on Canvas 16" x 32"

Arcadian Modern

Arcadian Modern. 14"x17" Acrylic on canvas. $300.00. A little nod to Joaquin Torres-Garcia.

How to make a wax resist acrylic painting on cotton cloth

Click 'read more' to see the steps in creating this simple image.

 

Dakota

Dakota. 38" x 26" mixed media.

Release your Inner Artist

"The process of painting springs from interest. The artist is done when that special thing has been said." Robert Henri

Making art is so often about experimenting!  There is no right or wrong way to make art. We  are all artists!
Get out there and make some art. Nature is the premier inspiration and there is no better time to be inspired than in the Fall with brilliant warm colors everywhere you look.

This piece is made from what I believe is a rusted license plate (I found it on the ground)!  Encaustic colors are heat fused to it in layers. I am inspired by walking around Asheville, North Carolina as the season changes. Check  The Urban Art Retreat and Studio for encaustic workshops or en plein air gatherings. I offer them quite frequently.

En Plein Air

En plein air acrylic painting from the Asheville Botanical Gardens. Frame constructed from re-purposed wood.   En plein air painting can be a way to meditate!

J. Krishnamurti says it best:

"Meditation is one of the greatest arts in life, perhaps the greatest, and one cannot possibly learn it from anybody. That is the beauty of it. It has no technique and therefore no authority. When you learn about yourself, watch yourself, watch the way you walk, how you eat, what you say, the gossip, the hate, the jealousy, if you are aware of all that in yourself, without any choice, that is part of meditation. 
So meditation can take place when you are sitting in a bus or walking in the woods full of light and shadows, or listening to the singing of the birds . . .

The meditator is the meditation."

J. Krishnamurti

The free en plein air gatherings at the Asheville Botanical Gardens are 2 hours long and are held once a month when weather permits.  Go to The Urban Art Retreat and Studio to reserve a spot at the next gathering. There will be two more this year.

Color Journaling

Color journaling can be a fun way to relax and enjoy nature and painting.  There is no pressure to perform and there is no wrong way to paint what you see, because your journal is private.  You can use a color journal session to practice painting or drawing moments in time much like Monet or any of the Impressionists. Color journal classes are offered at the Urban Art Retreat and Studio.  To enroll, simply send me an email when you see it offered. Drawing/painting materials and journal are provided.

Class: $30

Materials: $5

Indigo Squall

Indigo Squall. 2015. 

Acrylic on canvas. 36" x 72". $5,000.

Encaustic on tin and oil on board (Studies-Iceland)

Brooklyn Snow Day

Brooklyn Snow Day. 24" x 30". Painted in little over 2 hours in oil on found board in the spirit of the Ashcan School style of painting.

The Ashcan School Movement was an early 20th Century American artistic movement portraying daily life in New York City. Using gestural strokes, the Ashcan artists concentrated on the vitality and energy of the growing city teeming with immigrants and new industry.

Corner Bistro 15" x 15". Acrylic on re-purposed wooden board. Painted from a photo taken by Nick Puglisi. 

Helm of Awe

Ægishjálmur, Helm of Awe or Helm of Terror is an Icelandic magical stave that was used to induce fear or protect against the abuse of power. 

Mini Installation
Mixed Media

The Urban Art Retreat and Studio of Asheville is closed.

The Urban Art Retreat and Studio of Asheville is now closed.

 Offering a variety of Art, Design and Craft workshops.  

100 Goddesses, Saints and Other Heavenly Hosts: Inspirations from Sacred Feminine Mythology

100 Goddesses, Saints and Other Heavenly Hosts: Inspirations from Sacred Feminine Mythology by my 'nom de plume' Zoe Sinclair is now available on Amazon.com and Kindle. The book is also available for free on Kindle Matchbook.

All royalties go to Parkinson's disease research.

OLD HIPPIE ARTS AND CRAFTS

Beaded Earrings 

 

 $15.00
Non-allergenic stainless steel ear wire 
New styles all the time!

More earring designs. All color choices not shown here.

25 Yeas in the Desert: A Companion Guide for the Cosmic Journey of a Lifetime

I would like to present my first book to you.  

25 Years in the Desert is now available on Amazon.com.

 Support your neighborhood book sellers and consider picking up a copy at 

The Grove 

 3010 Juniper Street, San Diego 

or The Controversial Bookstore 3063 University Avenue, San Diego. 

 Your comments and feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Fun with Gouache Paint

Click on Read More to see the images from the video!

Wabi-Sabi Trees in Winter

Wabi-sabi Trees in Winter

36" x 52" Mixed media

Wabi-sabi (nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect).  

Releasing the Artist Within

Moved to Asheville, North Carolina!

Go to The Urban Art Retreat and Studio to register for an art workshop.

Do you want to learn to live more creatively? 

Do you want to awaken the artist within you?

 Attend a 12 PM Saturday afternoon seminar in beautiful Balboa Park in San Diego.

Learn to meditate and to be more creative by painting outside en plein air (in the open air)!

Unleash the artist within!

Live more creatively in your daily life!

 Click to Enroll

There is an artist in you!

Irish Diaspora

The Irish Diaspora

The Irish Diaspora consists of all the people who claim Irish descent and reside outside of Ireland. I am grateful to be part of the Irish Diaspora in the United States. The Irish have made significant contributions to this country and many other countries around the world. Large numbers of Irish emigrants and their descendents now reside in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil and states of the Caribbean and continental Europe. Today, 80 million people around the world claim Irish heritage and 41 million of them are in the United States.

Cathartic Experience

What is Catharsis? 

Catharsis is a Greek word meaning ‘cleansing’ or ‘purging’.
 

The purging of emotions or relieving of emotional tension can be accomplished through the practice of art making for many people.  It is the act itself, not the finished work of art that is cathartic for the artist and the image here shows that process.  By drawing a portrait of my recently deceased mother, I am able to experience catharsis.  It is a powerful exercise and I encourage anyone who is experiencing pain brought about by loss or other emotional stress to attempt to release that emotion through art making, writing, composing, or any other creative endeavor. 

Painting with Children

I teach college, but have always enjoyed painting with children.  My granddaughter, daughter, and I painted this elephant on a discarded palm frond.

 Clara is putting the finishing touches on the elephant head before we hang it. We couldn't have done it without her.

Old Stuff-Assemblages and 3-D Artwork

These Assemblages and 3-Dimensional Artworks were made from 1997-2004 in partial fulfillment of both doctoral and master's degrees.

Cosmic Energy Divided
26”x 17” Tile, copper wire and foil in paraffin in recycled cutlery box

 

American Dream Timeline
31”x 88” Mixed media

Fractals-Just love 'em

What is a fractal?  A fractal is a geometric figure, each part of which has the same statistical character as the whole. A fractal can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole. Think of a tree and its branches or a snowflake.  Check out these Buddha Fractals, Wave Fractals and a Fractal Fractal.  They are easy to make at any of the free online fractal generators. Try it yourself!

More Old Stuff-Installation Art

Images of The Circle Way Installation at The Expressive Arts Institute Gallery in San Diego. Encaustic on canvas. The Circle Way is an expression of  'enlightenment' or the 'ecstatic experience'. Some believe this experience can not be represented or expressed in art or any other way and it is futile to attempt it. I disagree, and The Circle Way is an installation in an immersive space to give the viewers the opportunity to experience for themselves within the space itself.  The Circle Way includes the immersive space, video, music, performance, and large circular canvases in encaustic which is a wax-based medium applied while hot. See the Spiritual in Art: Abstract Painting 1890-1985 by Maurice Tuchman for ways artists have tried to depict or express the 'mystical experience'.

Old Stuff-Drawings from a Long Time Ago

Times Square.  Graphite on paper. 18" x 24". 

Even More Old Stuff-A Few Paintings from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s

Old Stuff-A Few Paintings from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s 

1990s. Windy Day at Rockaway. 38"x11". Oil on Canvas.

Old Stuff-Border Pictures and other Photos

US-Mexican Border in 2006. I was given permission to take pictures along the US-Mexican Border.

 

Three boys looking through the Fence on the beach where the Fence meets the Pacific Ocean.

Homage to Dada

Homage to Dada. 14"x18" Blackened wood.

Untitled

26" x 30". Oil on Canvas. Wabi-sabi (nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect).

Duplicity

Duplicity. Mixed media. 17" x 20" x 3".

Three Blue Boars

Three Blue Boars by Zoe Sinclair is 10"x40". Mixed media/reclaimed materials. Created for a private collection.

Ambidextrous Action

Zoe Sinclair for Studio 71. Mixed media/reclaimed materials 17" x17" $300.