I’m thrilled to share that I will have paintings on view at Harris Harvey Gallery from September 5 – 28, 2024. I’ve been working on getting ready for the show for a while and it’s wonderful to finally see it come together. Please go the gallery website to see what is still available.
Artist Statement about the Paintings on View
I paint objects of intimate familiarity—fruits and florals from my garden, objects handled in my time as a mount maker for Seattle Art Museum—in compositions inspired by the Dutch Golden Age. Much as the Dutch masters would compose seasonal impossibilities, I bring together inspirations separated by time, space and tradition. My work is a reach for a childhood of birds’ nests and frogs, a longing to grasp that wonderment yet reconcile with isolation and loss. It is a meditation on the comings and goings of life, the closeness and distance to kin of all kinds.
Western Tiger Swallowtail and Parrot Tulip, oil on copper, 5.5 x 4.5″Broken Tulip and Bee, oil on copper, 6.5 x 5.5 inAsian Pears and Peaches on Lacquer Tray, oil on copper, 20 x 24 inPlums and Swallowtails, oil on copper, 16 x 20 inFigs and Cheese with Celadon Dragon Vase, oil on aluminum, 10 x 8 inFour Tulips and a Yellow Rose, oil on aluminum, 14 x 11 inMum, Butterfly and the Spider, oil on aluminum, 17 x 12 inSpider Mum, Bee and Snail, oil on aluminum, 17 x 12 inBlackberries and the Indigo Bunting, oil on copper, 12 x 12 inYellow Tulip and Monarch Butterfly, oil on aluminum, 7 x 6 inFiji Papilio Swallowtail, oil on copper, 4.5 x 5.5 inThe artist in the studio with her two sons
I’ve long been a fan of the 17th century still life painter, Jan van Kessel the Elder but only recently came upon the works of Margaretha de Heer. This newest miniature is inspired by both of these artists.
Born around 20 years apart, these two artist had a lot in common. They were born in close proximity to one another, one in Belgium and the other in the Dutch Republic, and they were both born into artist families. The subject matter for their paintings also bore a striking similarity. They both created still life paintings with insects and figurative genre scenes.
Unsurprisingly, I’m most interested in their still life paintings. Jan van Kessel created a vast amount of still life paintings that are more often referred to as “nature studies”. He filled his compositions to bursting with a variety of insects, plants, fruits, and shells on pale backgrounds. They don’t always follow the rules of perspective; some subjects feel like they’re on a tabletop, while others are rendered as if on a wall, and some are just floating. Whatever plane they’re on, the rendering and delicacy is universally exquisite. I found fewer examples of Margaretha’s still life paintings, but they are rendered with equal prowess. Though the subject matter is similar, she organizes her compositions with perspective and balance in mind. She isn’t afraid of “blank” space in the composition, and the flow of her composition feels more graceful and natural.
Part of what I love about making still life paintings is exploring the vast genre of painters that have come before me and truly attempting to learn from the masters. By letting their works inform my paintings, I learn tricks in how to both compose and execute my work. My painting is honest about its influences, but it is no less mine, just as these two artists created such similar yet distinctive bodies of work.
I hope you enjoy the latest painting in my swallowtail series! The butterfly is a Blue-banded Swallowtail found in Central & Southern Africa.
For the month of April, I have made a botanical painting with swallowtail butterflies. The two lovely butterflies in my new painting look like completely different species, but they are in fact both Papilio lowis (Asian Swallowtails). The great difference in appearance is present in the male and the female of this species, which is called sexual dimorphism. Often the male has brighter colors to attract the females’ attention, like this dark butterfly with iridescent blue/green scales; the males are also smaller.
Scientists attribute this to differing pressures on the sexes, but the reasons for dimorphism seem to be as diverse as the species themselves! In the case of this pair, the females mimic a type of poisonous butterfly, discouraging predators. The males meanwhile kept their brilliant iridescent colors, which apparently the females find quite attractive.
Inspiration from Art History
The inspiration for the composition on my botanical painting and the background goes back to my 14 years installing artwork for the Seattle Art Museum. I installed countless Chinese and Japanese scroll paintings, and even went to Japan a few times as a courier to oversee the installation of various asian masterpieces for the exhibition, “Luminous Jewels”. One of my favorite scroll paintings in that exhibition was, “Sixty-Four Butterflies and Moths”. The mass of insects flutter evenly throughout the painting, each with its own label. While this painting didn’t directly influence the composition for my painting, the delicate rendering of the butterflies always stuck with me. Thinking of this painting helped set the direction of how this painting would develop.
I hope you’re enjoy this month’s painting, and I hope you’re beginning to enjoy some warmer weather. I’m looking forward to the season when I see more butterflies outside the studio than inside it! Follow my newsletter to see the new monthly miniature and for exhibition updates.
The most studied of all swallowtails, this iconic butterfly was the first to be given the name, “swallowtail.” It is the only swallowtail in most of Europe, and I’m guessing that’s where it gets one of its two most-used common names, “Old World swallowtail” (the other, simply “swallowtail”). But its actual habitat is widespread and extends across much of the Northern Hemisphere, including North America.
The painting includes both a male and female, the male with his wings folded, and the female with hers open.
This species feeds mostly on plants of family Umbelliferae. The giant cluster of tiny flowers were a bit intimidating to paint, but it was worth pushing through. I love the contrast between the cloud of flowers and the black background.
Though these flowers are not currently blooming, spring is just around the corner, so it won’t be long now. Stay warm if you’re in the middle of a snow storm! And cool if you’re in the middle of a heatwave! The weather’s been crazy this past week.
Old World Swallowtails, oil on aluminum, 5.5″ x 4.5″
For the first time in a year, I’ve added added two new limited edtition prints to the shop.
Both of the new images come from paitnings in my monthly miniature series titled Creature Comforts and feature foods to brighten spirits in dark times.
My painting “Plums” featuring these golden orbs bursting with juice and flavor, along with one of my favorite visitors in the garden, Swallowtail butterflies. The bowl is from the collection of the Seattle Art Museum, where I worked as a mountmaker and made hundreds of mounts for the porcelain room. Though I was able to touch and document the lovely bowl, filling it with plums was all in my imagination.
The second of the new limited edition prints on offer is one titled “Simple Pleasures“.
Homemade bread has made a serious comeback over the last few years. I got a bit of a head start on the trend because I got a bread maker for Christmas just before the pandemic started. My husband is gluten-free so his intentions were a bit selfish but that’s OK–I love baking! Fresh bread and warmed up brie is such a simple, yet perfect combination.
This painting was created during the month of April, while it was still cold outside but signs of spring were starting to appear. Robbins and tulips were putting on a beautiful show and I brought them from the garden to the table to help enjoy the simple feast.
I hope you enjoy these two new prints available in the shop, and if there’s a painting you’d like to see offered as a print, let me know. I’m having two new prints added a year and will take your request into account when choosing the next pair to become available.
The main subject for this years series of monthly miniatures will be my favorite kind of butterfly, the swallowtail. With over 550 different species, they appear in a vast array of colors, shapes and sizes and I will have no shortage of inspiration. For this painting, I chose the Pipeline Swallowtail. This butterfly is found in extensive areas of North America; in the United States, it’s mainly found in the south and southeast, plus an isolated pocket in central California.
I paired my swallowtail with thistle flowers, which are a favorite (of mine and of the butterfly). The flowers on a thistle stalk don’t usually bloom all at once, but I’ve taken some liberties. I was inspired by the compositions of the Dutch still life painter Jan van Kessel. Van Kessel worked in the mid 17th century, at the height of the golden age of Dutch still life painting. It was common practice during this time to create paintings that were seasonal impossibilities, pairing blooms that appear months apart in nature, or all of a plant’s blooms open at once, as I’ve done here. I wanted to create this simple moment, full of plenty for my butterfly. I love the contrast of a vibrant thistle in bloom. Thistles have the perfect pairing of soft flowers and spikey leaves and stems.
Some of you are squeamish about insects, and I hope you’ll indulge my love of these delicate creatures. Rest assured, I will be creating work for the gallery in the upcoming year, both with and without insects. 😉
After my crazy, overloaded 2022, I can’t tell you how happy I am to have this painting finished by the first week of January! I wish you a Happy New Year, full of deadlines met ahead of schedule.
The theme for my new still life series will be the idea of “Simplify”. I’ve been thinking a lot about simplifying my life and trying to learn how to set aside much-needed time for relaxation and contemplation. I’ve titled my series for this year “Simplify” and I’m hoping to bring that idea into my life in the coming year. Contemplating the idea in how I’m composing my work seemed like the perfect way to start (but it’s harder than you might think!).
Oranges are in season now, at their peak of flavor during these cold winter months. Beyond being delicious to eat and beautiful to look at, for me oranges have become a personal metaphor for pushing through and staying alert.
Years ago, I worked full time as a mount-maker for the Seattle Art Museum while also painting full time. I was also an avid hiker and practiced ballet and Iaido (a Japanese martial art). Each day was packed full. And each day around three o’clock my body would protest and demand that I take a nap. After trial and error with way too much coffee and chocolate, I found that oranges not only tasted refreshing but made my whole body feel refreshed. Oranges perked me up perfectly and gave me the second wind I needed to get me through until I could take a nice, long nap on the bus ride home. “Orange time” soon caught on with my coworkers and became a daily ritual.
I hope you enjoy the first painting of this new series! Sign up for my Newsletter if you’d like to see the series as it unfolds.
Happy holidays! I give you a portrait of a chocolate cake and propose a toast to the hearth, a place of warmth and closeness and to all things chocolate. Let us find cheer in our creature comforts and appreciate the time we can spend together.
For this painting, I’ve pulled together different things that make the time of year special to me. The holidays are a little different for me because of all the December birthdays in my family, and chocolate cake is a birthday tradition for me. This portrait of a chocolate cake summs up my perfect birthday. The three glasses of port are a tribute to dear friends.
My sister recently moved into an old farmhouse, among its charming features are several large hearths. My fireplace is humbler, but when my son and I gather around it to sing songs, it feels perfect.
As the year concludes, I remember how hopeful I was at the end of 2020 for a year with vaccinations and the return of a more normal way of life. But the world is still in flux, and our plans with it. We have to adjust, to find a way to stay warm and find cheer through the long winter.
Please enjoy the last painting of my Creature Comforts series of Monthly Miniatures, and I hope it helps you find your own sense of warmth and cheer.
Hearth, oil on aluminum 5″ x 5″
I framed this painting in a handmade Dutch Ripple frame with a unique wavy ripple. Tom Matthews created 12 custom frames for this series and each one had a unique combination of ripples. I love this wave pattern – it reminds me of icing. 🙂
September has been a crazy month. As you may have noticed, my little garden gives me a lot of produce, and I’m a bit obsessed with not letting it go to waste. I feel like I jumped from a plum roller coaster right into an ocean of pears! I’ve canned 50 jars of pears (underestimate), eaten a million pears (overestimate) and baked a decadent French Pear Tart.
My mom gave me my pear tree 12 years ago, and it’s getting really big. Since our cherry tree came down, the pear is the new favorite for the birds. Our resident Steller’s Jays like to nip at the fruit on the top of the tree, so it felt perfectly natural to invite this Jay to the French Tart party.
Speaking of a crazy month, my own little bird (five your old son) started kindergarten, and talk about roller coasters. My emotions keep going up and down with excitement and fear. Except for a few school bus mishaps in the beginning, it’s been a pretty smooth transition. He is such a sweet little guy, and he really appreciates special homemade treats like this. He loved the tart, but he REALLY loves the canned pears. I have every faith that we’ll go through those 50 jars! The tart was incredible, but with a 21 step recipe, it’s a once-a-year occurrence.
I haven’t quite accepted that fall is already upon us and plan on staying in denial for as long as possible. I hope you enjoy the sunshine and warmth while it lasts and take some time to enjoy a special treat too.
Thank goodness I love plums. I have a Shiro Japanese plum tree in my backyard that gives me 2,000 plums most years. I work really hard to use as many as I can, and my refrigerator is comically filled with around 1,000 plums. If you need a plum recipe for anything you can possibly imagine, let me know—I’ve probably tried it! Better yet, stop by if you’re in the neighborhood and I’ll give you some fresh plums or some homemade jam.
I paired the plums with my favorite kind of butterfly, the Tiger Swallowtail, which is a frequent visitor to my garden. I also referenced an image of one of my favorite porcelain bowls in the Seattle Art Museum collection.
It’s surprising to me how happy it makes me to look at these plums, given the countless hours I spend peeling and pitting them. They really are delicious, but it’s also the beauty of the plums themselves. They’re just bursting with life, and the difference in color between the white, powdery bloom and my bright yellow fingerprints just dazzles me.
These little joys are more important than ever right now. Little obstacles and conflicts that used to be so easy to brush off now have a way of feeling insurmountable. Our son is five and is supposed to start Kindergarten on September 7th. We’re worried about the new Delta strain that is more likely to harm children than previous variants of COVID, and we just don’t know what to do. It’s not always possible, but I’ll give you the advice I’m trying to give myself: give yourself some slack and some time to just relax and breathe.
I hope this painting inspires you to go outside, close your eyes to all your troubles and enjoy a bite of summer.
Each frame for this series of miniatures is hand made by Tom Matthews in New York. They feature carved ripples, made in the dutch tradion and take about a month to complete.
