August 2025:

The unstoppable palette of my post-fire work had me humming Electric Avenue by Eddy Grant in the studio today. I cannot deny what I'm being led to make. True, I chose the paints at the shop, but did I think I'd combine them in this way? Never. But I'm going with the flow.

I read Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi years ago. I remember loving how someone could put into words that feeling, that state and how important it felt to me to have it recognized. I've lost the book, but I've not lost my ability to access flow and I'm deeply grateful for that. I've had to fight being dispirited, and life's demands, in order to find my way into the studio at times, but, thankfully, I've never had a fear of the blank page.

Any mark will do to start. I work on multiple pieces at once-- that way, if I hit a snag on one, I can turn to another. These pieces, from left to right: Full Moon, Lit Tree; Under, In the Earth and Dream Antiquity evolved together. I hope the burning brightness in them is mesmerizing despite hovering close to toxic. It's all about that seesaw, push and pull, being on the brink. Viva paint!