In this series, I depict native and invasive plants I’ve encountered in wilderness areas, in vacant lots, and on the edges of my back yard. Through color and gesture, I convey the exuberance and resilience of things that grow wildly without invitation or cultivation.
Part of my task is to express the beauty I find in the uncultivated landscape, while rendering these plants as portraits, distinct and individual.
In painting both native and exotic species, I also ask: Where is a plant considered a weed? When is it welcomed in the wilderness but unwelcome in a cultivated environment? These plants embody parallels between cultural diversity and biodiversity, provoking questions about desirability, exclusivity, and valuation. Painting them allows me to coalesce my love for color, paint, and the natural world.
Poppy Pandemonium 163.
Oil, graphite on panel, 36 x 36 in. 2016
Poppy Tangerine Green Gold 228.
Oil, graphite on panel, 36 x 36 in. 2014
Poppy Aqua Green Gold 229.
Oil on panel, 36 x 36 in. 2014
Thistle Back Alley Oakland Green Spike Blue 52.
Oil on canvas, 52 x 48 in. 2013
Thistle Indigo Cream, 213.
Oil on canvas, 48 x 48 in. 2014
Collection, Kaiser Permanente
Thistle Briones Green Gold Orange Yellow 107.
Oil on panel, 24 x 24 in. 2013
Thistle Briones Yellow 71.
Oil on canvas, 60 x 36 in. 2013
Thistle Orcas Copper Bronze 94.
Oil on canvas, 40 x 18 in. 2013
Thistle Oakland Copper Bronze.
Oil on canvas, 40 x 18 in. 2013
Thistle Requa Yellow 53.
Oil on canvas, 60 x 36 in. 2012
Poppy Icy Green 227.
Oil on canvas, 36 x 24 in. Private Collection, Palo Alto, CA
Poppy Oakland Green 202.
Oil on canvas, 16 x 16 in. 2013
Poppy Oakland Amber 201.
Oil on canvas, 16 x 16 in. 2013
Poppy Oakland Blue 203.
Oil on canvas, 16 x 16 in. 2013
Thistle Oakland Coral 90.
Oil on canvas, 20 x 18 in. 2013
Thistle Green Gold 79.
Oil on canvas mounted on panel, 24 x 24 in. 2013
Thistle Oakland Dark Blue on Pale Yellow.
Oil on canvas, 23 x 24 in. 2013
Thistle Briones Blue 73.
Oil, graphite on canvas, 48 x 36 in. 2013
Private Collection, Oakland, CA
Thistle Back Alley Oakland Pale Green.
Oil on panel, 24 x 20 in. 2011
Thistle, Back Alley Oakland/Blue 2.
Oil on panel, 24 x 20 in. 2011