The paintings in this exhibition are from two series: Space Explorer and Micro Worlds.
The Space Explorer paintings originated during COVID and were brought to heel by a microscopic virus. My pandemic paintings feature a female space explorer encountering worlds that were inspired by mushrooms and lichen. I drew from a female figurine in a retro space suit that I got at a garage sale many years ago. Her suit protects her from hostile environments. This resembled the protective layers we all wore in the early parts of the COVID pandemic, before we knew the behavior of this virus and had a vaccine to protect us from its worst.

The Micro Worlds series draws from textures, colors, and shapes from lichen. This is an
entity between an animal and a plant that lives symbiotically with several varieties. It has curious appendages: openings, chalice shapes, cilia, ruffled edges, and networks of arteries with connecting foci. I incorporate these alien shapes into my work, in part to try to understand their purpose.

I create the lichen-like shapes using 1/4 inch plywood cut with a scroll saw. They are layered,
glued, sanded, and painted to create abstract artworks.

I am a Gainesville artist. My mother was an artist, but I began painting after a career in
architectural design and renovating buildings. I work in both oil and acrylic mediums as
appropriate for the canvas or wood I am using.