February is my favorite month of the year. It's starting to feel like spring here in Southern California, even though the weather hasn't started to warm up yet, and we're getting a lot of rain. The trees are developing buds and the wildflowers are beginning to bloom. It's a beautiful and hopeful time of year.

The picture at the left is to show you that this job isn't all glamorous! It's messy, but that's also the fun part of it, at least for me. I love being in the studio and creating new work.

I'll be at OBJCT Gallery for the Pomona Artwalk on February 13th, 7-10pm, if you'd like to see me there before the show closes on the 27th. I have two more shows lined up for March and September of this year -- two more opportunities to see my recent work!

Thank you to everyone who has purchased my work lately! I am very grateful for your continuing encouragement and support.

Best wishes,

ARTconnectsLA has started to do its first placements of artwork, at Common Ground in Santa Monica, and Children's Bureau in downtown Los Angeles. It's exciting for us, because it has taken a long time to get this point. When we started ARTconnectsLA over a year ago , we had no idea how much work it would be to get a nonprofit organization off the ground.

It's also exciting for me, personally, because both agencies selected some of my artwork for their facilities. Common Ground is a resource center for people who are HIV positive. They selected three of my paintings along with twelve other pieces of art, and recently hung the work on their walls. It looks great there!

Children's Bureau is a large resource center for parents and children in under-served communities, and they selected seven of my paintings.

It's very gratifying to be able to brighten people's lives with my work. This is what it's all about for me -- making a difference in the world by providing some beauty and pleasure for people, regardless of their financial means.

Poppy, 2004, 36 x 36 inches, acrylic on canvas
Recently placed at Common Ground. 

Last call for Valentine's Day cards!. I created a series of special limited edition handmade cards for Valentine's Day, now available from my Etsy shop. Each card is a unique piece of art, suitable for framing. They are signed on the front, and dated and numbered on the back.

Like my paintings, the cards are made with repurposed acrylic latex paint -- paint that is rescued from reject shelves before being sent to landfills.

There's more information available on the concept at my Frameable Art Cards website. I also plan on doing limited edition art cards for spring, summer, fall and winter.

Q: James from Chicago asks, "Love those paintings! Is the paint simply just latex from the paint store?"

A: Thanks for the question, James! Yes, it is latex house paint, but I don't buy custom mixed colors at retail prices.  I'm using repurposed paint, which means that I find it at the local Household Hazardous Waste Facility, or on the reject shelves at Home Depot and other hardware stores.  It's also known as Oops! paints and mistints.  I work with all different finishes -- matte, eggshell, semi-gloss, gloss, interior, exterior -- which gives interest to the surface of the work. I also have to work with the colors that are available, rather than specific colors that I choose. I find it interesting that the colors seem to go in cycles. One week it will be all reds that are available, and the following week all peaches.

I like working with latex paint because it is very thick and opaque. It pours and moves beautifully, and the colors mostly stay separate, which gives a more graphic look.

If you have a question you'd like answered, send it to me via e-mail.

Emergence 2, 2009, 24 x 24 inches,
repurposed acrylic latex paint on canvas

Re-Appropriate
OBJCT Gallery
250 W. 2nd Street
Pomona, CA 91766
Pomona Artwalk second Saturday, Feb. 13, 7-10pm
www.objct.com

The Home Grown Store
5455 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
323.933.5400
www.thehomegrownstore.com

Bergamot Station Cafe
2525 Michigan Avenue, A3
Santa Monica, CA 90404
www.bergamotcafe.com

LACMA Art Rental and Sales Gallery
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.857.6500
www.lacma.org

Pierre Paul Art Gallery
3370 Washtenaw Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734.975.1050
www.pierrepaulartgallery.com