I finished this painting a couple of weeks ago. It is large - 60" x 48" - Oil on Canvas. It is part of the Museum of Bad Judgement series. I like to imagine that this is the same girl who appeared in this painting I did in 1995. Later that year, it was used for the cover of my friend, Joel's first album. 

Joel's music is haunting, and beautiful. And seems to fit this time perfectly, even though he created it so long ago.  I have lost touch with my friend, but my hope is that he is still creating and making his music. 

​Here is the first song, and one of my favorites from that album. 

​And this one - OK Reno - the penny whistle at the end will break your heart.  

You can find a ton of other music by Joel R.L. Phelps over at Bandcamp.com. 

Something that has occurred to me over these past couple of months:

A large percentage of the work I create is not going to make it out of the studio, and some of it will just be plain bad. The good news is, work creates work, and every so often, something will come out that is beautiful and haunting, and tells me a story that makes me think of more stories. That keeps me going. 

In November of 2019, I made the decision to quit my very stable job with the state of Washington, and pursue my painting full time. Being anxious by nature, it was a difficult decision, illustrated by the fact that I didn't actually end up leaving my job until February 10, 2020.
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Besides having a very supportive partner, who encouraged me and is making it possible for me to do this financially, it came down to me saying to myself "If not now, when?" At 51 ½ years old, it is finally clear to me that my obsession with painting is a gift, and it is what I really need to be doing with my time. So, I stepped into this new chapter, leaving a lot up to chance (and by "a lot", I mostly mean, how I am going to make money).    
 
​Needless to say, none of it has unfolded as I had pictured it. My original plan when I quit was to hide out and go deep in the studio for a few months, and follow where that path is leading. That plan hasn't really changed, but with the pandemic everything else has changed. 

​We are extremely lucky to have a home to stay in, and my out of state parents have people coming in to help them out, so I am grateful for that. I keep asking the universe how I can help in all of this, and every day, I end up back in the studio, in my backyard.  But I keep asking. 

I am realizing that pursuing my painting is more important than ever. It is like an anchor that I never knew I had. It has been difficult to paint with all my worried thoughts running through my head, so I paint in shorter blocks of time. But I keep showing up, and painting through the difficulty. 

​I don't know what will happen, but I know this will change us. I am going to keep showing up for this mystery, and help where I can. 

​The ideas for the paintings in this series grew from a memoir written by Bruce Spaulding (my grandfather) in 1983, entitled Some Interesting Criminal Cases I Have Tried. He died in 1990, and I discovered this unpublished memoir many years later. He was an attorney in several towns in Oregon starting in 1930. His memoir covers eight murder cases between the 1930’s and 1960’s.

His writing about these cases and the people and circumstances involved is unusually visual and detailed. In addition to the memoir, I have several of the case files, as well as newspaper clippings and other ephemera related to the cases. These stories and the pieces of evidence evoke vivid images for me that I am using as source materials for this series of paintings. I am not painting or recreating murder scenes, but instead drawing on my own visions of the people, places and things surrounding these stories.

Some of the larger themes I am exploring are turning points and decisions, memory and loss. My grandfather began losing his memory to dementia shortly after he wrote down these stories, and most of the people involved, I assume, are dead.

To start the series I had to narrow my focus, so I could concentrate on my approach to each painting, otherwise I knew I would be all over the place. I decided to pick four cases, and paint 3 paintings per case. (One large, and two smaller) Reining myself in helped me concentrate, and really connect deeply with what was going on in each painting.

...and by limited, I mean you can count the edition on one hand. I made archival Giclee prints of 4 of my paintings this year, and they turned out so great. The colors are very close to the originals, and I am really pleased with them. They are $150 each, unframed. I have some framed in simple black wood frames, and those are $295.  Paintings are also for sale, and are priced individually. 

I hope you can stop by for the Studio Tour. My studio is #1 on the map on the Tacoma Arts Month website here. I will be open both Saturday and Sunday form 11am -5pm. 

Happy New Year and I can't believe it is February already. I have been working in the studio in some new larger paintings, which I am excited about, but I have also set up a new STORE on my website!

Right now the purpose of this store is to sell some beautiful (very) limited edition Giclee prints of four of the paintings I made in 2018. 

This is new for me. I have never made or sold prints of my paintings before, and I am really blown away by how good these prints turned out. They are on a matte paper, with either a 1/2 " border, or a 1/4" border. The color is very, very rich, and they really look beautiful. 

So, please head on over to the store and check out these new prints. 

Of course I have paintings for sale too, but they are not in the store right now. If you are interested in purchasing a painting, or have any questions about the prints or anything, please contact me, and we can talk. 

I don't know what life in 2019 will bring, but I am trying to stay close to the studio, and get as much out from my head and my heart as I possibly can. It will be an adventure, that's all I know. 

Rickreall Creek,  Oil on Canvas - 2018

I feel lucky to have landed in Tacoma at this stage of my life. The city and community really values artists, and the town is packed with great artists. There is a relaxed energy, friendliness and beauty here, which is inspiring a lot of creative energy in me these days. It is a great place to make paintings, which is really all I have ever wanted to do. Plus I have an amazing little studio. I am super grateful to live where I do...

ANYWAY....October is Tacoma Arts Month, and I am really excited that my studio is going to be part of the Tacoma Studio Tour! Its happening October 13 and 14, and my studio will be open 11 - 5 both Saturday and Sunday.

Click HERE to find out more the tour, location, details etc. My studio is #1 on the map. As you can see on the map, the studio is a little removed from the cluster of other studios, but don't let that scare you. It's really not that far and it is easy to find. Please contact me if you have any questions about getting here.

As a hands on activity, we will be writing and/or making postcards to send to anyone you want. I will provide the stamps, postcards (I have hundreds of old, unused postcards) and clip art. You provide the thoughts, the message and the address. 

I donated a small piece of art for the passport drawing. If you visit 7 studios on the tour, and turn in your passport, you are entered to win a fabulous prize. 

I haven't ever really done anything like this Studio Tour before, because I have never really had a studio before! Not alot of people see my work in progress. I am excited ( and a little nervous, of course) to share it. I absolutely love painting, and being in my studio, and I am interested to see what it will be like to share that with friends and soon-to-be friends. I think it will be a blast.

Come on over! Lets look at old postcards, listen to records and talk about art! 

Since I moved into the studio in December, I have been spending as much time as I possibly can in there. I love it so much in there. It's just a magical place where I can get really quiet, or listen to my music really loud, and just be with all my painting gear, etc. and go deep...... The results of all that time spent in there are a few new completed paintings that I am really happy with, plus the start of a really cool new series project. ( More about that in a later post....) .

Those completed paintings, (along with a couple older ones) are going up at Walter's Cafe in Ballard for the month of August.  Walter's is located at 6408 32nd Ave NW- Seattle, WA 98107. We will be having an opening there on Friday, August 3rd  6-8pm. It's a funky neighborhood place that serves great coffee, ice cream, beer etc. It's tiny, but we can take over the sidewalk, like we did last year. Come on by and say hi! I am really  grateful to have the opportunity to share my work at Walter's again this year. 

Also - Save the date. I will be participating in the Tacoma Studio Tour on 10/13 and 10/14 as part of Tacoma Arts Month. I am really excited, but I don't have too many details yet. I will be posting more, as I learn more. Come out and see my studio, plus many other great artist's studios all over Tacoma. 

Below are progress photos and the finished painting titled 14 Kids. It is acrylic on an old board. 24.5" x 20.5"
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I  haven't written here since the studio has been finished....because I have been working in there. Come and find me there. If I  am not working at my day job, or sleeping, chances are I am there. Here are some photos...

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to hang my paintings at Rocco’s Lounge in Seattle. They are up there now, and will be up until October 15th. Rocco’s is a great space at 2228 2nd Ave in Belltown. I visited them last night, and the paintings really look fabulous in there. They needed large paintings for their walls, so most of the paintings in this show are older, and have been in shows before. I love being able to see these old friends in this new space. 

This show and space is curated by the Laurie Kearney at Ghost Gallery in Seattle. Most of these paintings are available for sale on their website here:

https://ghostgalleryshop.com/offsite-exhibits/
This page contains 2 other artists. Scroll down, mine are at the bottom of the page.

I am grateful to Jesse Flores, for connecting me with Laurie and Ghost Gallery. We need people like them who love art, encourage artists, and help to get the work out into the community.