The Feeling Series refers to a series of large canvases that I first started painting in 1994 after many years of thinking about what different emotions would look like if they were painted. These paintings are autobiographical and do not attempt to depict a universal view of the emotion that is the title of the painting. Joy is what brings me joy: flowers and nature, music, and art for example. Each one of these paintings has many layers of meanings and stories which add an air of mysteriousness to them. In all there were to be twelve canvases. The last painting that I finished was in 2001, Fear, which presaged my own life's derailment (as in being struck by lightning), and my subsequent unplanned move to Florida and having to start my art life over again. The upheaval of my life, and subsequent problems and anxieties of life, I lost my energy on these paintings. I hope to finish them before I die! the good news is that the next painting, Shame, is being worked on as I write this in August of 2008. (Addendum.... The best news is that Shame was finally finished August 1st, 2010. See the note about it below.)

These paintings are available as Giclée Reproductions on both canvas and paper. Click the link for reproductions to check on prices.

I have a booklet describing each of these paintings, their meanings, and the circumstances under which it was painted. See below to order one or view it online as a PDF document.

ANGER
Oil on Canvas
48 x 48
1994

I went into therapy during a bleak period that resulted in a creative block and my therapist asked me what my anger looked like. I visualized something like an inverted organ pipe between my stomach and my mouth that could spew forth anger. The tubes filled with colored liquid represent that image. Some of these paintings have visual puns and the vase of tulips is one that stands for "two lips" which is where my anger usually gets expressed. The creative block was eradicated with this painting and has not happened again since!

$7500

FEAR
Oil on Canvas
54 x 40
2001

Death occupies a region of my conscious mind frequently. I try not to dwell on it, but it presses sometimes, often sparked off by movies, the news, and grief that seems omnipresent in our world. It is a reoccurring nightmare theme and remnants of childhood terrors resurface in those dreams. There are real things to be afraid of and there are things that "go bump in the night" that make me unable to sleep well. I think of all those fearful things: snakes (real and human) time, masks, violence and guns, and the strangers in our midst. And of course those sudden, life altering events we experience, lightning burning our houses to the ground, being the victim of a random shooting, being caged in a society with a leader who is out of control with power, my xenophobia, and the relentless warning beat of the drumbeat of my own heart.

$9500

GRIEF
Oil on Canvas
48 x 42
1996

When I least expect it grief sneaks up and explodes like firecrackers in my head and heart. This painting represents the loneliness of grief and the feeling of being boxed in by it, even when you have  company they are looking the other way. There is an oboe hidden in with the birds of paradise stems signifying that mournful sound. Outside the box there is lightness, but until time has passed we can only wait until the rivers of tears dry up.

$7000

LOVE
Oil on Canvas
48 x 36
1996

The "love of my life" came to me many years ago, all ready married. What a mess! It took a long time for us to unscramble the feelings, the life circumstances, the marriage, and get on with our own relationship. Our love was definitely under the table for a long time! When we finally were able to "tie the knot" we married to The Trumpet Voluntary. I chose sunflowers for this image because they follow the sun across the sky every day. This seemed to  be appropriate for my love affair that was out in the sunshine, happily tracking the sun around the sky.

LONELINESS
Oil on Canvas
48 x 48
1997

Hidden behind the pretty boxes is a lost soul who's image is endlessly reflected back and forth in the double mirrors. A single orchid is stuck in the commemorative Four Roses bottle on the table. Just how much control do we have over our own loneliness? Somehow, we imprison ourselves in barricades of our own making, that are, in the end, only empty boxes.

$7000

JEALOUSY
Oil on Canvas
48 x 40
1996

When I thought about Jealousy I couldn't come up with any image for it, until I saw the spiral staircase in an antique shop in Massachusetts. The theatrical nature of jealousy was being played out on a daily basis when I started painting this canvas with the O.J. Simpson trial on TV every evening. I thought of Othello and the way jealousy kills spirit, if not life itself.

$7000

JOY
Oil on Canvas
48 x 30
1994

Joy was the second painting in the series, painted in 1994. I wanted it to be very simple so I tacked up a poster of a David Hockney painting to my studio wall to remind me to keep the image to a minimum. It represents my own joy in nature, art, and music.

Private
Collection

$9000

Friends have said, "why calla lilies, they look like funeral flowers", and "why black and white? It seems uninspired to me!" My answers are; calla lilies have been depicted in art for centuries, and symbolize various things like light, purity, chastity, sexuality, love, life and death. Seems like a good flower for Inspiration to me! If you look closely you will see that this painting is modeled after the Yin-Yang symbol, which stands for harmony, balance, and opposites. Another good model for Inspiration, but it also feels, to me, either on or off, either I am inspired or I’m not…..nothing in between with inspiration, and it is no accident that the word "inspiration" comes from the root meaning “to breathe"  or “inspire” and it often does seem like a matter of life and death, especially when the inspired state of mind is gone and it feels like all the lights have gone out. 

$3500

THE FEELING SERIES BOOKLET
The booklet gives more specific information on about each painting; where it was done, and the thoughts behind the images.

$3.00 (includes postage)

or CLICK HERE to read the booklet online as a PDF document. You need Adobe Reader (free from Adobe.com) to view this document.