Map of the Pacific Northwest

Map of the Pacific Northwest, mixed media on canvas, 12”x12”

Just one last piece for my upcoming show Landscape + Collage = Collagescapes.   All pieces of old maps, postage stamps, postcards and more to help map out the Pacific Northwest. 

Greener than Green

Columbia Gorge Collagescape, mixed media on board, 12”x12”

It seems every time a friend returns from a visit to Washington or Oregon they always pretty much say the same thing, “It’s so green up there.”  Up in the Pacific Northwest they seem to take the green for granted – well at least west of the Cascades.  And you know, it really is green up there.  Even California’s wettest winters and greenest springs are different from the green up north.  The dense lush grass on every roadside, the skies that quickly go from blue to lead gray, the muted light – it is striking how a place that is not that far away can be so different.

I wanted to capture some of that green for the Collagescape Series.  I chose one of my favorite places in the Pacific Northwest — the Columbia River Gorge just east of Portland.  It’s one of those over-the-top landscapes that the Western United States does so well.  But unlike the arid West, up north it’s green, so many shades of green with occasional break of a tall, narrow waterfall and the blue flow of the river itself.

This is another work to be included in my Collagescape show opening in August.  In the meantime, prints and additional items with this image are also available from Society 6.  

Public Transportation

Public Transportation, mixed media on canvas, 24”x24”

I’ve lived car free since the 1980’s.  When I am feeling broke, it’s fun to estimate how much money I have saved over the years by not owning a car.  I do drive and rent cars for road trips and also use the car sharing service zipcar.  There are times I want to do suburban shopping errands as well as other times when a car makes life easier.  Living in a compact city with decent public transportation makes it all possible.  Out of both necessity and some genuine admiration, I love public transportation. 

When I travel to different cities I always seek out the adventure of public transportation.  There is something magical about emerging from a subway station in a strange city for the first time.  I still can remember the moment I emerged onto a Barcelona street and beheld Gaudí’s la Sagrada Família.  Many of my dreams play out on public transportation.  I often dream about stations and trains over and over for months before I first see them.  This has happened for me in places like Frankfurt and Washington, D.C.

This new piece is made up of public transportation maps from around the world.  From my familiar MUNI and BART to DC’s Metro, to London’s Underground and many more.  You also might spot a few bits of MUNI Fastpasses, transfers and BART tickets.  I also have a DC Metro Ticket with President Obama on it.  That one stayed on the refrigerator door.  I couldn’t cut that one up.

Prints and other goodies based on Public Transportation are also available from Society 6.