News & Updates

Saturday Market- Nogent sur Seine, France II

2012-04-10T15:52:50Z

Yesterday I rode bikes with my new writer friends at the residency to Saturday market in Nogent sur Seine. There was a cool scent of stinky cheese in the air, the vegetables were freshly picked, and the baguettes freshly baked . Many townspeople were carrying up to 5 loaves to last through the holiday weekend. One of my favorite vignettes was a butcher I had photographed and painted before before carefully wrapping up a spread of meats.

— inNogent-sur-Seine, Champagne-Ardenne.

Artist Career Advancement Grant Awarded by Louisiana Division of the Arts

2012-03-14T07:53:40Z

I have been awarded an Artist Career Advancement grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts. 260 Louisiana artists applied and I was one of 36 that received the award. The $2249 grant will pay for my travel expenses in France, art supplies, return shipping to the United States, and framing costs for the work to show throughout Louisiana. I'm so excited! The work i do in France will be shown first at Livaudais Gallery on South Grand Street in downtown Monroe, Louisiana beginning June 7, 2012.

Saturday in Troyes, France

2012-03-11T20:59:29Z

We (a group of of 5 artists from around the world) drove to Troyes, France yesterday to hit the art supply store and, later, the Saturday markets. These are some photos I snapped wandering around and sampling foods. We also stumbling on a distillery/wine shoppe that has been run by the same family since the 12th century. We shared a bottle of their pride and joy- "Prunelle de Troyes" a very sweet liquor.

Tonight, my friends from Slovakia and Holland made dinner. We had young rabbit with lemons, Jerusalem artichoke, baked pumpkin, carrot and raisin salad, and tarte au citron. The rabbit actually costs half what chicken does at the supermarket and is much more tender and flavorful.

Saturday Market- Nogent sur Seine, France

2012-03-05T20:53:34Z

I went with two of my fellow artists to Nogent sur Seine, a small town ten miles away for their Saturday market. I love taking pictures of people and food, so it was a great chance to get a combination of the two. French people are real characters, especially the older ones.

We bought a fresh whole chicken and Julianna, my new friend, is in the kitchen preparing Paprikish chicken, a traditional Slovakian dish for Saturday night dinner.

These shots of the market in Nogent are serving as inspiration for a new series of watercolors I will show when I return to Louisiana.

I love the look, texture, and color of all of these whole chickens in a row.

Even though this photograph of an old lady was taken in France, it really reminds me of home.

Residency at CAMAC, Marnay-sur-Seine, France (Feb.26-May 26,2012)

2012-03-02T15:38:21Z

I am at CAMAC now in Marnay sur Seine. This town is really great. There is a church across the street from the 12th century! It is closed right now for rennovations, but Jean-Yves, the director here says he can get me a key so I can go inside and see some of the ancient drawings they have on display. One of the main buildings at CAMAC was built in the 1600's. Most of the houses are made of stone and have what looks like stone shingles on the roof with some sort of green plant growing on it (Breston will know what it is). The director and the other lady here are really nice. They opened a bottle of champagne for my arrival! By the way, Marnay is in the Champagne region of France (this is how the famous wine gets its name because this is where the special grapes are grown.) There are no stores or restaurants here. There are only 240 people that live here. It is like Riverton, but all of the houses are very close together. There is a River (the Seine) that runs through the town. It is very beautiful even in the bleak winter weather.

Tomorrow I am going to the market to buy groceries for the first time with Karine, the administrator here. I will buy a week's worth of groceries every Thursday. This Thursday, two of the artist's will arrive from Taiwan, so i will cook a small dinner for 4. I am also responsible for baking bread twice a day, which is something I have wanted to learn for a long time. I will also cook dessert for every meal, which will be fun.

I went out walking and taking photographs in the town this afternoon and picked fresh lavender to put in my apartment kitchen and bathroom. It grows like a weed out of the cobble stone street around the corner from here. I also met some great new friends nearby- a large turkey and some chickens that were really 'fluffy' unlike anything i have ever seen.

P.S. One of my daily duties is to feed Frieda, the black cat at CAMAC. We have not met yet, but I've heard she's very talkative and that i will know when she is ready for dinner.

Artist's Reception December 8, 2011 at the Schepis Museum

2011-12-17T21:47:50Z

Exhibit at Cast Iron Catering in Rayville, Louisiana

2011-11-26T18:34:06Z

"18 Seconds (The Enchanted Trail)" and "Found in Riverton" to show at Schepis Museum November 2, 2011- January 2, 2012

2011-10-24T15:59:04Z

I am showing two different bodies of work at The Schepis Museum in Columbia, Louisiana November 1, 2011-January 2, 2012. The first, "18 Seconds:The Enchanted Trail", is an installation of 70 watercolor paintings of film stills from an 8mm home movie, circa 1954. The second is my "Found in Riverton" series- 11 large oil and collage pieces inspired by emphemera on site Breston Plantation.

Reception with the artist December 8, 2011 from 6 to 8pm at The Schepis Museum located on Main Street in Columbia, Louisiana

New work showing at Columbia Cafe in Shreveport, LA

2011-07-31T05:45:40Z

I am showing my latest body of work, Riverton Early Summer 2011 series, at Columbia Cafe in Shreveport, Louisiana. Here is a sample of some of the pieces on display there July 2-October 21.

This series was created after I found a bundle of World War Two Era recipe booklets my grandmother had saved from trips to the supermarket. The paintings have original vintage recipes collaged beneath the painted surface.

The collage creates a geometric abstraction upon which I incorporate figurative images, which derive from early twentieth century family photographs and 1940’s advertisements. Bright color, contrast, and expressive painterly marks are used to update ordinarily monochromatic snapshots and give a new life to discarded ephemera.

My thanks to Matthew Linn, owner of Columbia Cafe, for providing the perfect venue to show these works of the gastronomical theme! Columbia Cafe is located at 3030 Creswell Street (Kings Highway at Creswell Avenue) in Shreveport.

New website launched

2011-07-23T20:26:55Z

Welcome to my new portfolio site! More information to come soon. Thanks for stopping by!