My art assistant makes all this possible. It’s a huge undertaking to acquire art supplies, have a space to store them, figure out how to put them together and then how to get them from place to place. None of this happens without all kinds of help. If you’re as fortunate as I am, you have a live-in assistant you adore. Mine is my husband.

Originally my work was on flat panels made of plywood. Plywood is nothing fancy, in fact I preferred what was cheapest. My husband would cut them down to the size I wanted and prime them for me. He would later install professional and well made hangers on the backs of each piece so they were ready to hang as soon as someone bought them.

For many years I have used acrylic paint because it dries quickly, and knock down, also known as wall texture or orange peel to you Home Depot fans. Hardware stores are great art supply stores too.

After enjoying the texture and mobility of the medium for awhile I wanted more. I wanted something shiny and slick looking without giving up the texture, so I added resin. There are a few different names people use but it’s basically the thick, clear, shiny stuff that coats my work now.

I moved from flat panels to deeper, box-like “canvases” also built by my adorable assistant. I like the edges being painted and seen, I like the feel of substance and weight the box gave my paintings. And I liked that it could hold up to all the sanding, rubbing and scratching I did throughout my process. As my work developed my lines went from simple thick lines to thinner, slightly more complex lines.

I would begin with background paint, add the texture, more paint, more texture, as much as I liked, then as it dried I sanded and scratched and painted some more. The first layer of resin would be poured and left to dry, untouched in a dust free room for several days. When it was completely dry I would sand that layer, giving it the ability to absorb the next layer.

The next layer was either charcoal, paint or permanent ink.

Permanent ink is just a slightly fancier way of saying marker. Using markers is my favorite because it gives me so much more control. I liked how the charcoal blended and gave me smooth lines but sometimes it blended too much and the paint wasn’t much better in that department.

After trying the fancier, more expensive ink pens and brushes, I opted for good ol’ Sharpies. They were perfect. It felt like I was back to doodling on my jeans as a kid. Which gave me my next idea.

The next phase of my work became doodles on the plywood box panels, between coats of resin. My husband’s resin pours were meticulous. I have seen flaws in a $14,000.00 piece of art work that you can’t find in mine, thanks to him.

Most recently I merged materials I am equally passionate about. My love of doodling has found it’s way onto my beautiful, rusty, found objects layered in shiny resin.

I probably should have started smaller but instead I have worked my way backwards from very large pieces - old truck hoods and doors to the rusty backs of old medicine cabinets and tin shingles.

I have a little bit of every series still in my possession, but for now I have closed my art studio due to a remodeling project that has to be done in order to shower - priorities.

I am still creating work on an idea and sketch book level, (and I am still always on the look out for found objects that serve my purposes) but since I am no longer able to full on create big pieces of art I am working in a new art form. I am writing a Middle Grade Novel series called Full Circle about a 10 year old girl who finds her voice in the chaos of her family life through art. It’s initially set on a little lake, near the woods - sound familiar???

I should also mention that my protagonist is drawn to found objects and eventually uses them to build mobiles as a way of attaining some small balance and control in her life. So I have been building a few mobile prototypes. Can’t quit art completely…Stay tuned for more on that project.

Follow your heART