Who are my influences???

I was asked for my Transformative Art Training to explore who are my influences.


Hokusai

I love his paintings for the simplicity and compositions. He says so much with so little.  There is an economy of color and line. I hope to achieve that in my work. Nature is a force and has a personality.

Hokusai has an inspiration passion for art the inspires me. This quote by Hokusai is something I live my life by.

"From around the age of six, I had the habit of sketching from life. I became an artist, and from fifty on began producing works that won some reputation, but nothing I did before the age of seventy was worthy of attention. At seventy-three, I began to grasp the structures of birds and beasts, insects and fish, and of the way plants grow. If I go on trying, I will surely understand them still better by the time I am eighty-six, so that by ninety I will have penetrated to their essential nature. At one hundred, I may well have a positively divine understanding of them, while at one hundred and thirty, forty, or more I will have reached the stage where every dot and every stroke I paint will be alive. May Heaven, that grants long life, give me the chance to prove that this is no lie."

Nathan Fowkes

One of the best teachers I ever studied with was Nathan Fowkes.  He was all about commitment, being prepared and putting in the hours.  I took Head Drawing with him but what most inspires me about him is his land sketches that he does in a gray or brown paper sketch book.  I love his bold brush strokes. As a teacher he inspired me to work harder and make a serious commitment if I expected to get better.

Kathe Kollwitz

I discovered her in my grandmother's house and her people look like my grandmother's side of the family.  Her mark making is amazing.  Her emotions jump off the page.

Emil Nolde

The bold colors of Emil Nolde is what I love the most about his work.  He uses color is completely forceful and energetic.  I try for that in my work.

Laura Amazzone

Another one of my favorite teachers is Laura Amazzone.  She taught me about the Goddess.
I have taken three classes with her at LMU and some at her Venice home.  When I have more time in my life I want to get to her weekly Goddess circle and be one of her disciples. She makes the South Asian Goddess completely relevant to our everyday life.

Paulie Zink

Paulie Zink is my Yin Yoga teacher.  He taught my the power of embodying the animals in the Yoga Poses.  Making Yoga accessible and fun.  I am amazed by his flexibility and humility. He is the TAO!!

Mantak Chia

When I studied with him this summer everything he taught was about healing.  Exercise, being in shape, any of that was not part of the discussion.  He wanted to connect with the North Star and heal the Body,  His practice of the 6 healing sounds and the inner smile are very important parts of my teaching right now.

Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Her audiobooks and Women Who Run with the Wolves have shaped my ideology