I've been doing some self-portraits. Here's a few I thought I would share.This first one, I call " Long Winter, Long Face". Funny enough my husband said that it doesn't look like me and I answered , "But it's how I feel!". Too many snowstorms, back to back stomach flu  and food poisoning, it was pretty rough.
So it was a psychological portrait and luckily , my mood has changed.

 This is one of  the places I go when I am meditating. It is a space of vast time and space. I try to stay"tuned in" for as long as I can, then I feel renewed.
It's title is, "Indra's Net".

This is the most like me. the one on the left is titled, "Still a Little Wild Left".
And the one on the right is, "Prairie Girl".
Nostalgic for the vasts skies of North Dakota,

I call this one, "I've got my eye on you". And I know where you live also!
I made the reflection older as a reference to watching the passage of time in my own face. Pretty tough stuff for a woman. Hence the tough look. But make note of the cut-out dove between us. Symbolizing that the entire exercise of the self portrait is to make peace not only with your image but with your identity. I throw the gauntlet down and challenge my fellow creatives to use themselves as a subject matter and express the wellspring of  feeling and emotions about yourself.
It's a grounding and rewarding experience. And I guarantee that you will never get bored with yourself!

and now for something completely different...-kes

a look at some unfinished pieces emerging together

hut

patronus

the interlaken

evolution... -kes

...or why the Art Connection of Boston matters 

This post is brought to you by Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin, officers of the laws of nature. These are laws I can get behind.
house, collection of the artist

tempera on newsprint

Law 1: 
The second law of motion (Newton)

Force(F)=mass(m)*acceleration(a). 
I interpret this law in layman's terms as there is only so much I can carry before I 'can't get out of my own way' (a) artistically'. 

Unchecked quantities of life belongings to fill one's own fish bowl can result in mortgage or rent issues. A larger aggravation is feeling one's own creative animal locked in a box. What does that look like? 
It looks like creations confined to a cardboard box or closet, this feels like a glamorous episode of 'hoarders'. Even valuables create weight (m) I can't live with or under. Thanks Art Connection for finding good homes for my progeny and making space for more creativity.

Law 2: Adapt or die (Darwin). This is pretty self explanatory. So if I follow law 1 above evolution is a progression that takes almost no effort (F).

the spiders and the alligator. collection of the artist.

(almost a 1/2 century later it gets posted on a blog. carl jung would have a field day i'm sure.)

hydrangeas, private collection
23 carat leaf and oils painted in reverse on glass

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the koi pond at selby gardens, mt. auburn hospital, cambridge, ma 

mixed media with acrylic on canvas

reflecting pool, private collection

oil monotype on unryu, collaged

creepy crawly -kes

The large lovely in the upper left is a house centipede. We call them hairy bugs at our house. If you live in an old house these guys are probably your friends as well. Cats love 'em, almost endless entertainment, but in the end none escape the paw of death.

...stepping out of the elevator.

Today's blog is brought to you by beasts from a 25 ft' x 50 ft' pest control company's training room mural and the associated ~2ft' 3-D models. I think the president of the company wanted to make sure if anyone was sleeping during the training sessions at least they were having nightmares.

rodents...

Imagine the sculptures hanging from the ceiling and crawling on the painted walls. that's the installation. not sure why i didn't take a final install photo. enjoy cringing.

yellow jacket..

The next two images show how each sculpture evolved; a free drawing with approx. dimensions noted to start, then cutting and carving a foam block with my kitchen knives, followed by whatever grit sandpaper was lying around. Once the pieces had lost the block shape they were assembled on armature wire. Modeling paste creates texture and some structural support. Its mostly like finger painting in light cement. Tools are overrated.

blood feeders...

a flea...

a stored product pest (they get into your dry cereals)

roach

  ...a fly and an earwig.
the end.