Oil and acrylic on canvas
2020
24” x 30”
In the months leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, I’d started expanding from a focus on the ever-changing temperate rainforest climate in Portland to explore other kinds of fleeting moments—like floods, and the interaction between natural and artificial light. An unplanned motif of liminal spaces emerged, the most surprising pattern being near-empty parking lots, lending the new series a distinctively eerie sense of quiet even before the COVID-19 crisis began.
In March 2020, as the world changed and life shut down, I was invited to join the New York-based Socially Distant Artist Residency program, connecting virtually with other artists around the country (and a few outside the USA), making work and sharing thoughts related to solitude and social (dis)connection during the pandemic.
I completed some of the paintings in this ongoing series in the Before Times, others as part of this residency and beyond, fortunate to be able to continue painting at home in the garage under shelter-in-place orders and letting the work reflect the shuttered cityscapes around me. The common thread is still unexpected transitory moments. The term "fleeting" can be applied on different scales: a sunshower may last minutes, a flood weeks, a pandemic months—but each is unique, and temporary.
Image description: A painting of a flooded parking lot next to a building that is grey with red and orange stripes. A grey car is parked in the lot, and there are trees in the distance. The entire scene is reflected on the water's surface.
Oil, acrylic and graphite on canvas
2023
24” x 18”
Image description: Painting of a flooded parking lot at twilight, lit in places by overhead lights under a deep blue sky. Trees and lights are reflected clearly in the still water. In the foreground is a section of sidewalk above the water.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2019
18” x 24”
Image description: Painting of a city street, with a near-empty parking lot in the left foreground. One car is parked in the lot, and a worn vintage arrow-shaped sign reads “PARK HERE.” Tall buildings can be seen past the lot, and the walls and windows reflect bright golden sunlight. The sky and parts of the pavement are an unusual seafoam teal color.
Oil, acrylic and graphite on canvas panel
2023
9” x 12”
Image description: Painting of a convenience store at twilight under an overcast blue-grey sky, with the dark shape of Mt. Tabor looming behind. A road in the foreground occupies the lower third of the composition. The storefront is lit yellow-orange, contrasting with the surrounding dark greys.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2024
20” x 16”
Image description: Painting of the view through the window of a bus. Seen outside the bus is a small market and parking lot under a grey sky, with a car and truck reflecting on the wet pavement. In the foreground is the chrome window frame and the yellow pull cord inside the bus.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2020
16” x 20”
Image description: A painting of a small blue house and mossy driveway, with a chain link fence and small magnolia tree in the foreground. The tree has a sparse covering of pink blossoms, and there are pink petals on the grass beneath it. The sky is grey, with an abstract dripping pattern.
Oil on canvas
2020
48” x 24”
Image description: Painting of a city street, looking closely at the surface of the street next to the sidewalk. The composition is tall and narrow, oriented vertically. There is a long slick of oil on the pavement, with iridescent rainbow colors.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2022
18” x 14”
Image description: Painting of a puddle on a city street. The puddle dominates the lower half, and passing cars can be seen above. The composition uses a limited palette of muted colors with a grey-blue cast, except for the surface of the puddle, which features an oil slick in a rainbow of colors.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2022
20” x 16”
Image description: Painting of a paved surface in close-up, viewed straight down. A brightly colored oil slick, mostly teal but with iridescent rainbow colors, dominates the composition at center, surrounded by dry areas of pavement.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2023
16” x 12”
Image description: Painting of an oil slick on a puddle next to a curb, with the reflection of a parked car at upper right. The surface of the puddle is striped with iridescent rainbow colors, and the surrounding pavement is washed with subtle rainbow colors.
Oil, acrylic and Saral transfer on canvas
2019
20” x 16”
Image description: Painting of a tall building under construction, seen in low, purple-blue dawn light. The building is all unfinished wooden walls covered in yellow Tyvek paper, viewed at a dramatic upward angle from below. A crane is at the center of the image, with a single bright light which is the brightest point in the painting. A contrail traces across the sky.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
18” x 24”
2023
Image description: Painting of a sidewalk on a street corner. There is a large puddle at the curb cut, and a red chair sits near the curb edge. Reflections of a pale yellow building can be seen on the street and puddle.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2022
16” x 12”
Image description: Painting of a city street in dim twilight, with three orange traffic cones arranged in a loose horizontal row on the street. The composition has a hazy blue-purple cast. In the background is a house and trees; a puddle reflects one of the cones, and in the foreground is bright green foliage at lower left and right.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2022
12” x 16”
Image description: Painting of a parking lot the fading light of sunset. A slight orange glow lights the horizon, and the sky is a deep, saturated gradient of turquoise and dark blue, dominating the composition. In the parking lot, soft light from street lamps interacts with the cast shadows of cars and trees.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2019
20” x 16”
Image description: Painting of a building in dark pre-dawn light, with trees and bushes in front of the lower portion. The sky is a dark ultramarine blue, and a streetlight is the brightest point in the composition. The side of the building facing the viewer, and the foliage, are lit with a soft orange from another unseen light source.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2020
24” x 30”
Image description: Painting of a white house with dark trim on a neighborhood street, with a green sport utility vehicle parked in front of the garage. The scene is cast in low purple-blue twilight, and a few of the windows in the house glow with radiant orange light. Instead of a sidewalk, in between the yard and street is gravel and puddles.
Oil, acrylic and graphite on canvas panel
2023
9” x 12”
Image description: Painting of a city street under a vibrant purple sunset. One car is driving at left, and a row of parked cars can be seen across the street, with silhouettes of trees on the horizon.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2020
18” x 18”
Image description: Painting of a small beige building on a gravelly city street. In front of the building is a large sign reading “LOVELY TIRE & WHEEL,” and three traffic cones. The red-orange cones stand in vivid contrast to the cool grey-blue of the pavement and sky. The sign and cones are reflected in large puddles in the foreground.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2022
18” x 14
Image description: Painting of a neighborhood street in fall, painted in soft, dominated by a tree with brilliantly red and crimson leaves standing at center left against a light grey overcast sky.
Oil and acrylic on canvas
2022
18” x 14”
Image desciption: Painting of a nondescript elementary school building, a wall of windows with a dark blue trim at top and brick trim at bottom. A small paper heart is attached to one of the windows. The sky is grey, and a bare tree stands on a grassy lawn. In the foreground is the sidewalk, with a yellow “no parking” stripe on the curb and a pile of fall leaves.
Oil, acrylic and graphite on canvas panel
2023
9” x 12”
Image description: Painting of a beige stucco building with small multicolored windows, a wide city street in the foreground. The sky is overcast with the sun dimly shining through. Two evergreen trees stand behind the building.
Oil, acrylic and graphite on panel
2022
13.75” x 13.25”
Image description: Painting of a car dealership on a city street, under an overcast sky. In the foreground is a large sign housing a large array of bare, bright light bulbs, with a smaller sign above with a QR code and the number 5. Black and white triangular signs and power lines criss-cross the composition.
Oil, acrylic and graphite on wood panel
2022
15.75” x 11.25”
Image description: Painting of signposts, streetlights, telephone poles and wires, seen at the top of a slope covered in foliage, under a light grey sky. Only the backs of the signs are seen, with no lettering visible.