Tell us about the process of painting on archivally prepared natural stone? That sounds very challenging. I discovered the amazing textures, patterns, and colors of natural stone a while back and started seeing horses and other subjects in some of them. It’s like seeing objects in a cloud. They’re open to interpretation. Some people might see a dog, others a fish. The hardest part of painting on stone is finding just the right ones with a picture already suggested on them. Sometimes it depends on which way the stone is turned. After staring at the stone for a while I often shape it with a diamond saw and smooth it with a grinder. A chemist and I worked out the best way to make the paint stick to rock so it is archival. Surface texture helps the paint grab and hold. The stone is sandblasted and/or sanded to give it tooth. It’s also best to have a neutral pH so it’s washed, dried, and treated with a light acid to etch a bit and adjust the pH to neutral. It’s then sealed with an oil painting sealer, painted, sealed again, and varnished. When it’s dry it’s framed and made ready to hang. I like to think of it as a modern-day cave painting. You were chosen to illustrate for the multi-million dollar Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Professionally, that was a huge opportunity for you. What would you consider to be the thrill of your lifetime so far? The Kentucky Horse Park assignment was a thrill. It opened doors for me with new magazine interest, clients, and galleries. I don’t think there was one bigger thrill unless it was meeting my husband. I try to live day by day and have lots of smaller thrills worth celebrating. One fun experience was when I was showing my work at Cattlemen’s Western Art Show in Paso Robles several years ago. I received an email from two owners of a large stone quarry and slab company in Shanghai, China, who saw my website said my artwork was “perfect”. I invited them to the show and they flew over. They bought five of my paintings there and five more large ones at a nearby gallery where I was represented. They spent two days at my studio afterward, great fun! You also paint in oil on canvas. Is there any similarity to the processes of working on stone and on canvas? The two are quite different in my mind. Stones tell what they need. Canvas is so blank. Since anything goes color-wise, texture-wise and subject-wise decisions must be made and problems solved before starting. I enjoy that. I studied Photoshop a bit to save images of my paintings. I now use it to try out compositions, colors and to solve the problems I make up. That frees up the painting time and reduces mistakes. I draw thumbnails first and decide on the shape and texture of the canvas. Right now, I’m exploring square formats. It’s challenging but can add drama I think. Recently I went to a field south of town and found a small herd of fairly wild cattle. I had recorded a violin piece on my phone because I heard cows really like instrumental music. The cows all came tentatively forward until they were close enough to photograph with detail. They had great expressions. I painted four square paintings of them enjoying the concert. Two are now in the Mountain Oyster Club Annual Art Show in Tucson, AZ.
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Fall Drive oil on slate 37” x 13.5”