 Love Is The Balm is a series of paintings as varied as the environments they were created in: The soft, ethereal grey and taupe of British Columbia. The vigor of Calgary, contrasted by the vast, open expanses of the Alberta prairies. The natural and cultural contrasts of Salt Lake City, Utah. The alarmingly vivid beauty of Hawaii, of which I have only begun to scratch the surface. The paintings in this series were made with locally sourced materials including earth, sand, crushed bone, organic pigments and metallic powders. A year of travel and transformation. This is exactly where I am supposed to be. There is nowhere to get to. I have arrived.  Students often ask me if I build my own canvasses. The answer is no. My first and last attempt to stretch a canvas was back in 2008. At that time, I decided that stretching my own canvasses was not a worthy investment for the following reasons:  A day at the beach swimming in the ocean, wind tossed hair and a quick change in the car. The events leading up to my first juried exhibition in Hawaii couldn’t have been more fitting. Each participating artist received a hand made lei to wear during the show. A talisman of the Aloha spirit prevalent in Hawaii. |