Alive on the paper, watercolor is a creature I have to simultaneously tame and let run wild. Every painting presents itself as a tightrope walk. It’s thrilling, maddening and never dull. Watercolor is my medium of choice throughout my life and one I always returned to between careers in graphic and rug design and animation.

I am drawn to the often-overlooked landscape of disrepair of Northern California. My paintings of old mailboxes, VWs and West Marin scenes reflect humor and recognition of our unique life here. There is a laid-back quality in our world that still exists between encroaching developments and high-tech business. The subjects delight me as I paint them but also remind me they are a record of what’s fast disappearing.

Many pieces in the swimmers series were painted as an escape from the stifling heat in my studio and from the isolation I felt brought on by the pandemic. I was projecting a lot of myself into these scenes as they helped me feel refreshed and alive—the very things I felt when I was an avid swimmer in my youth.

Both categories, though very different, have longing as an emotional touchstone. I believe they both are trying to recapture scenes or feelings that are beyond or almost beyond our reach but very much alive within memory.