WILD SWIMMING/ WILD LANDSCAPES
New solo show coming to TAG Gallery in Los Angeles 2 - 30 September 2026
Opening reception September 12 5-8 pm.
The Wonders of Wild Swimming
Cold plunges are the ‘new’ thing - ice cold baths that you lower yourself into for a minute or two to boost health and mood. Yet wild swimming, be it in oceans, rivers or lakes, come rain or come shine has happened for millennia, everywhere. The benefits have always been understood. It can be a time of quiet meditation or an activity that fosters camaraderie, all in the great outdoors. I have always loved swimming in the open air, feeling the elements wrapping around you in a visceral sense. It makes you feel alive, as if you have become part of nature, instead of trampling on top of it. In my paintings I wanted to capture that sense of quiet or unbridled joy. Whatever it might mean to you, let nature heal and put on your swim suits, a swimming cap or woolly hat and take the plunge.
The Wonders of Wild Landscapes
The landscapes are all interpretations from photos I have taken in Cornwall, England. A place I visit every year and which has one of the best coastlines in the world, made better by the fact you can walk the entire coastline (as you can all around the UK) and therefor can take in the awe inspiring views. When the sun shines, the colors of the sky, land and sea are vibrant. You cannot outdo Mother Nature so I wanted to interpret that intensity by re-imagining the colors of the landscape to a point that they are raucous and brilliant but still resemble the shape and contours of this edge of the world.
LAYERS OF SELF
5 PERSON SHOW AT OCCCA - ORANGE COUNTY CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY
A SHOW OF SELF REFLECTION
For me, creating ‘Layers of Self’ became a personal journey;
using myself as my muse.
I am now in my 50’s and as many women in their 50’s can attest, it can be like going through your teenage years again; the highs and lows of hormones, the restlessness as the tectonic plates of life shift and the dawn of new possibilities beginning to emerge. It is a period where you start to feel unseen, when age catches up with you especially in the body and you suddenly feel a bit insecure. It is also a time when you don’t give two fucks! It’s unbalancing, exhilarating, scary and redefining. A time when you wake up and you don’t know who you are going to be, one that wants the world to stop turning or the person who is going to be rule the day.
To portray this maelstrom, I took many photos of myself in many and strange poses, as though in a metamorphosis, thus illustrating, through my body, this strange dichotomy of my thoughts and feelings. The poses can be strong, awkward, funny, fetal. From the photos I made watercolor and charcoal sketches.
My larger pastel paintings - The Calm and The Storm are the Ying and the Yang. Sometimes life can be manic. I can be manic. Other times I am at peace with my environment and with myself (Transcendental meditation has been a marvel). Yet the two temperaments live within me.
My large acrylic painting, portraying myself in a defensive, off kilter way, with a blue tone, continues these oppositions. Blue can be seen as a cold, sad and emotionally distant color, but it is too seen as a color of spirituality, wisdom and calmness. Humans can be all the things all at once.
My large canvas paintings, entitles ‘Falling down, down’ are made of Chia seeds and acrylic paint. They present someone in free fall, suspended in the air, in quiet motion. I used chia seeds as they represent ‘strength’ in their Mayan origins. They are also seen by the Mayans and the Aztecs to boost energy and stamina, providing sustenance for their warriors. We might be barreling through life with little control over outside forces but we are our own source of resilience.
Through my installation entitled ‘ As it Comes, as it goes’, It is continuing this theme of life taking you in directions that you never expected or wanted, such is the nature of tumbleweed. As I am facing my ‘golden’ years I am along for the ride represented by the balls decorated by the photos of me that I started with at the beginning of this project.
Through this project I have visualized my feelings at this moment in my history and how my mind and body is performing. Something I have learnt is that living is such a privilege and life is marvelous even in the lows. Somethings you can’t control but I am ready.
PERCEIVE YOU
Self Portraits that were submitted to Perceive You shows that explores how people see themselves. The show was created by Kristine Schomaker and was a response to her PERCEIVE ME exhibitions.
UNDERWATER AND OTHER FIGURES
SOLO SHOW TAG GALLERY - AUGUST 2025
