This month I have the following:

South Pasadena show coming up on October 19
Silver Lake show comes to a close
Newest painting officially called done
Living on crutches and a boot
Private studio tours

On Saturday, October 19th, I have a very special pop up art exhibit. For one night only, I'm pairing up with Handle home shop in South Pasadena to present my work during the Fall Arts Crawl. Handle is a wonderful little store with nice stuff that truly spoke to me. The owner and I decided to collaborate at the upcoming event. The back of the shop will feature paintings and prints from my Natural Alchemy series. All of the shops up and down South Pasadena's Mission Street will be open for the festivities, and kids are welcome. Handle is at 1030 Mission St, South Pasadena. I'll be there from 4:00 pm - 9:00 pm so please stop by. More info here.

I've also got a piece in a show at The Neutra Institute Museum of Silver Lake in Los Angeles. The show closes on Sunday, October 6th from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm. More info here.

Big B's Waves, working title

Some paintings are more of a struggle than others. This one has been going back and forth in my mind and on paper for awhile now. It's true I needed a strong piece to handle that great big florid frame. Well, I think I finally did it. This one is for me (for now anyhow) and my cat Big B. We like to sleep under it and feel its gentle waves lull us into a deep and flowing dreamscape.

And then I look over to the right and see my crutches - yup. Illness and injuries bump up whenever they want, irrespective of our busy schedules. I managed to tear my calf muscle which has left me hobbling and stopped in my tracks. Outside of my control and all of a sudden, I have had to learn to do most things differently. The hidden lining was real rest, maybe for the first time in awhile. I had to stop and do nothing. It is my nature to go, go, go. Create, paint, work, write, work out. Well, not so anymore. I also had the misfortune of using crutches (not fun!) for a week and now I have a boot...

The things you can do on a couch

So crawling around the studio with scissors and paint has been replaced with the ipad. To be perfectly honest, I always toyed with the idea of becoming an ipad artist. Throw out all those materials that hold me down and make me have to pay twice what regular people pay so I can have studio space. No more lugging the paper, paint, canvas, paper, stuff, frames, rocks and brushes. It all fits snugly into these simple apps that cost about $5.99. Amazing. Truly amazing. I have watercolor, airbrush, crayon and every color and then some all in this little tablet. Great for travel, is what I always thought.

But I never took the ipad-only route for any length of time because I long for the touch - the texture and the patterns. My art is textural and feeling, expansive and glorious - even if you never touch it, those feelings come out and are most truly a result of my love to get my hands on the material.

But do not worry. I have already found a technique for getting my textures and papers into my electronic art when needed. I'm an artist for god's sake, that's what we do, constantly improvise and test new ideas and find solutions. That's both the fun and the struggle.

True Nature framed in black - See it on October 19

It is truly a delight for me to open my studio to people who care about art and artists and seeing the magic of a working art studio. I recently had a very pleasant visit with a small group and it was delightful. Really, it was.

If you want to do something different and impress your friends, book a private studio tour with an artist. I would love to show you my studio, my works in progress, some finished paintings, and my favorite place to be. You will have a VIP parking spot on a beautiful hill and a glass of wine and fine conversation. Stop by for an hour or two and enjoy a unique experience.

I mean it and I hope to hear from you. Just e mail me here to set up a time.

Setbacks and Art Forward