Ariel's Dream Book

The following are a series of watercolors based on dreams and distant memories. The subject came into being after a studio visit at the Vermont Studio Center with my teacher Carole Robb (see her work at www.carolerobb.net). Carole was my teacher at the New York Studio School for a brief year before I switched ateliers. In Carole's class I had begun to explore the painful subject matter of memory but I dropped this subject when I switched instructors.

One night, after several glasses (or bottles) of wine, Carole told me that I had abandoned this subject prematurely: I had "unfinished business." So, right away, I began to paint from my memory. Lately I have been having very vivid dreams of abandonment and strange beings in my presence. Make of it what you will...

Amy's Beautiful Book

This past November at the Vermont Studio Center, I had the privilege to meet a funny and talented print-maker named Amy Guadagnoli. You can see her prints and books on her website.

This series of work was done in one of her beautiful books, made of baltic-birch plywood and rives heavyweight paper. Amy's precious little book inspired me to make small drawings with colored pencil and watercolor--something I had not done since my childhood art lessons with my late grandmother, Katherine Kilgore. The book was an adventure in exploring my unconscious. Nearly every day for the month of February 2010, I worked in Amy's book.

Inspiration came from all over: my friend Stephanie Azaria's astrology website (www.thecosmicpath.com), my teacher Derek O'Neill (www.sq-worldwide.com), Carl G. Jung's Red Book, Indian art, my trip to Ireland in February, and my time here in Vermont. Thank you, Amy and to my teachers. This was a lot of fun.

I hope you enjoy this book. I sure did!

All images are 7" x 5" colored pencil and watercolor on rives heavyweight paper
February 2010

Meditation Sketchbook April 2010

These are images from my sketchbooks, ranging from September 2009 to present: April 2010. The first few are done from life and then the watercolors begin to explore memory. The final images are entirely from imagination and I intend to revisit some of them. Hope you enjoy.

*Each image is 12" x 9"with watercolor and gouache on heavyweight paper, Sept 2009-April 2010
*The final images are 9" x 9" with colored pencil, April 2010