June 2009

This is an acrylic painting on wood I recently finished illustrating the parallel between frog and human health specifically the fungus “chytridiomycosis”‘ threatening a third of the worlds frog species with extinction and “Staphylococcus Aureus” (staph); infecting people with increasingly more virulent, antibiotic resistant strains. It’s a play on the necessity and contribution of antibiotics as it is the thing that can cure the fungus in frogs and staph in people, but also breeds more fierce versions of what it “cures”.

(I’m such a goof, I checked like 3 times, but still spelled staph wrong in the painting; I just noticed it. ugh. ha ha. get out the brushes again)

These two watercolors are meant to illustrate parts of Oscar Wilde’s childrens’ story “The Selfish Giant”. One image shows the giant kicking the children out of his garden, then winter sets in for a few years in his garden until the children return, melting his icy heart and he learns that it’s nice to share and feel love. Awwww. It was an assignment for a watercolor class taught by an incredible painter and instructor Steven Player at the Academy of Art.

This is a detail of the Rembrandt Oil Study I completed for a head drawing class at the Academy of Art; it was done with a limited palette of white, black and burnt umber. Rembrandt frequently chose or was commissioned to paint Mennonites for his subject matter and I believe this is the reason for her style choice of the large white collar.