Skin & Bones, 66” x 32”, latex, spray paint, joint compound, charcoal, pastel, water soluble crayons and pencils on hardboard, 2019.
hOMe Store, Hawthorne, NJ
Waiting for a Miracle, 30” x 30”, latex, acrylic, water soluble crayons and pencils on canvas, 2019.
Shark Bite, 66” x 42”, latex, joint compound, spray paint. pastel, charcoal, water soluble crayons and pencils on hardboard, 2019.
hOMe Store, Hawthorne, NJ
Are We in Love Yet?, 55” x 34”, latex, acrylic, water soluble crayons and pencils on canvas, 2019.
hOMe Store, Hawthorne, NJ
With a Little Help From my Friends, 42” x 42”, latex, pastel, water soluble crayon and pencil on canvas, 2019
Cinq Gallery, Dallas, TX / artsy.net
Rude as a Booty, 63" x 48", latex, spray paint, water soluble pencil and crayon on canvas, 2018
hOMe Store, Hawthorne, NJ
Root Canal, 48" x 72", latex, water soluble pencils and crayons on canvas, 2018
hOMe Store, Hawthorne, NJ
Root Canal detail
Changing, 66" x 48", mixed media on hardboard, 2017
Changing
Changing detail
Kim Wuz Here!, 70” x 96” diptych, mixed media on hardboard, 2017. Overlapping figures are jumping with jubilation. The spray painted words “KIM WUZ HERE” are making a statement as if scribbled by a graffiti artist proudly declaring their presence. This large diptych is a celebration of my first solo exhibition in Dallas, named KIM WUZ HERE. I am proud, grateful and extremely excited to have my work hanging in this fantastic city! Once it was confirmed that everything really IS bigger in Texas, I immediately knew what my title piece would be. For 15 years I have been waiting for the opportunity to create a piece big enough to pay homage to one of my all-time favorite paintings- Peggy Guggenheim’s mural by Jackson Pollock. KIM WUZ HERE is only a fraction of the size of the mural, and I can’t say it really looks like it either, that was never my intention. But if you’re familiar with the mural, hopefully you will recognize my attempt to recreate it’s larger than life energy. And coincidentally (because I had actually forgotten) art historians claim that Jackson Pollock wrote his name straight across the massive mural, but it’s hidden so well within the painting that it’s very hard to make out. Though mine is much easier to read, the decision to write the words KIM WUZ HERE across my own painting must’ve been a totally subconscious, yet appropriate, decision on my part.
The City (blue/green), 48" x 48" diptych, mixed media on hardboard, 2017
The City (pink), 48" x 48" diptych, mixed media on hardboard, 2017. Before my parents and I moved to NJ in the early 70s we lived in the Hell's Kitchen area of NYC. My parents still worked in the city so we didn't move far, and I still commuted every day to hang out with my babysitter, a jolly old Irish longshoreman named Pat Flannery who was our neighbor in our old building. I spent my days bar hopping with Pat, sitting on torn stools, drinking Shirley Temples, counting as many old mosaic floor tiles as I could in our little smoke-filled dives. Outside, I was mesmerized by the crowded sidewalks and the endless rows of layered and torn billboards decorated with graffiti. Having parents in show business, the exuberantly designed billboards were always a particular favorite of the young artist in me. Peaking through the background of this painting are ads for musicals and plays that I’ve torn from the New York Times. The foreground depicts tangled figures in movement which represent the busy streets of NYC. I also used layers of joint compound, acrylics, latex, spray paint, artists’ crayons and pencils, etc. to somewhat portray the feel of the Hell’s Kitchen that I remember as a kid.
Chasing Rays, 48” x 72”, mixed media on hardboard, 2017. This piece is about chasing your dreams. There are figures climbing through sun rays, trying to reach their goals. Everyone has their own goals, but for me, I’ve had two. First came my goal to become successful a painter, which I will work toward for the rest of my life, always striving to grow and become a better artist. Second, and more importantly, this painting is about my now 4 year old twin daughters. Not for anything in my life have I fought as hard as I did than when I was trying to have our girls, going though 6 years of infertility- drugs, hormones, pills, endless injections, procedures, surgeries, daily ultrasounds and blood work, fighting with doctors and insurance, risking our entire savings, traveling out-of-state, the heartbreaking loss of 3 previous sets of twins, and on, and on. At the time, it seemed like it would never end. While the pain of continuing this nightmare was horrible, the pain of quitting would forever be so much worse. We chased our dream and eventually achieved it. During my pregnancy, my husband nicknamed the twins, “The Rays”, as in “our rays of sunshine”, and on 12/12/12, I gave birth to two stunningly beautiful, strong, healthy girls, Dylan and Layla, weighing in at 7.5 lbs and 8.2 lbs, both fierce and ready to take on the world from day one. And now that they’re 4 years old, I am still chasing those fierce and very energetic rays. :)
The Second Storm, 72” x 48”, mixed media on hardboard, 2017.
Bell Bottom Blues, 48” x 24”, mixed media on hardboard, 2017. Once upon a time, many many years ago, there was a prince and a very cool bell-bottom wearing princess who fell in love. Their “song” was Bell Bottom Blues by Eric Clapton. Every time this young couple heard that song, they’d instantly fall in love all over again. But over the years, the song wasn’t played as often as it once was. The prince and princess started growing old and life, for better and for worse, started to set in. They remained together, living through good times and bad, but experienced many heartaches and tragedies along the way that became difficult to recover from. The song eventually stopped playing, leaving the prince and princess with sad hearts, longing for their blues to fade away and the song to magically replay and bring their love back to life, as it once did so many years ago.
To be continued…
Paper Dolls II, 42” x 72”, mixed media on hardboard, 2017. Paper Dolls II was inspired by the Always "Like A Girl" ads from a couple years ago. The ads encouraged young girls to have self-confidence, reminding them that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to...and that doing something "like a girl" should be a compliment, not an insult. This painting shows paper dolls breaking out of their stereotypical position to demonstrate strength, intelligence, athleticism, etc. I only hope that my husband and I are teaching our own girls not just to have confidence and determination themselves, but to encourage it in others, and treat others with respect, acceptance, kindness, and understanding.
The Daydreamers, 48” x 48”, mixed media on hardboard, 2017.