Tribute to the Raisin Farmers

acrylic and pencil on cotton in raisin boxes
(three boxes in all - the photo on the right simply is showing details of the box on the right side of the series)
60" x 24" total size

I call them 'my boxes'. Where the idea came from I am not sure, but the construction began just before the Millennium. As many artists around the world were, I did several pieces in different mediums marking this juncture of time as we know it. I had dragged around for years a couple shallow large drawers in which I kept sheets of paper and other flat things. I wanted to make a 3-dimensional drawing commemorating the Millennium. I had been drawing and painting on fabrics for quite awhile, so using the techniques developed since about 1995, I treated my fabrics and copied various Christian manuscripts on the fabrics and rolled them and wove them into the boxes - one for A.D 30 - A.D.999. The other box was for the second Millennium.

Below the Millennium pieces are my tribute to the San Joaquin Valley farmers - portaits of actual farmers who were in the newspapers, fighting fair prices for their raisins. I show them here in their raisin boxes of 'rolled raisins' in the fields. I favor using cast away dresser drawers and metaphor of family, culture, home in several of the pieces.

The next four are single paintings, inspired by events in the world or personal observation. On the left is my interpretation of raindrops one sunrise on a dry eucalyptus leaf on my lawn.

On the right is a commemoration to the children who were devastated by the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center.

Tribute to 9-11

Crevice
acrylic on canvas
30" w x 40" h

There are many more, but the aboveare representative of the whole collection .

Below are a few more figurative paintings in watercolor