Dreamscapes series evolved from tidepool studies and was inspired  by a portion of the poem, “Why We Tell Stories” by Lisel Mueller which was also the inspiration behind Anamnesis series.

“Because we used to have leaves

and on damp days

Our muscles feel a tug,

painful now, from when roots

pulled us into the ground

And because our children believe

they can fly, an instinct retained

from when the bones in our arms

were shaped like zithers and broke

neatly under their feathers

And because before we had lungs

we knew how far it was to the bottom

as we floated open-eyed

like painted scarves through the scenery

of dreams, and because we awakened

and learned to speak”

Dreamscapes is a collection of paintings exploring underwater energy and memory. I am inspired by the stories we tell and how we make sense of the natural world. My intent is for the flow of images to resemble a remembered dream where some vague image is underneath another, in a kind of recall or reminiscence.

Tentacles, Water Spirits, and  Octopus Garden are  24″x 32″x 2″ cradleboard paintings with 2″sides. The paint is applied in layers and removed and sanded muliple times.The result is an ebb and flow of color that works horizontally and vertically.