With the Thought of (Peace, Joy, Love, Compassion) 2009

Acrylic and Oil paint on canvas, 36" x 36"

With the Thought of (Peace, Joy, Love, Compassion) 2009

Acrylic and Oil paint on canvas, 36" x 36"

With the Thought of (Peace, Joy, Love, Compassion)

Acrylic and Oil paint on canvas, 14" x 14"

With the Thought of (Peace, Joy, Love, Compassion)

Acrylic and Oil paint on canvas, 36" x 36"

With the Thought of (Peace, Joy, Love, Compassion)

Acrylic and Oil paint on canvas, 36" x 36"

With the Thought of (Peace, Joy, Love, Compassion)

Acrylic and Oil paint on canvas, 36" x 36"

With the Thought of (Peace, Joy, Love, Compassion) #1 2007

Oil and Acrylic on canvas, 42 "x42"

The Buddhist entreaty referenced above is repeated upon itself in varying colors.

With the Thought of (Peace, Joy, Love, Compassion) #2 2007

Oil and Acrylic on canvas, 42 "x42"

The Buddhist entreaty referenced above is repeated upon itself in varying colors.

With the Thought of (Peace, Joy, Love, Compassion) #3 2007

Oil and Acrylic on canvas, 40"x50"

The Buddhist entreaty referenced above is repeated upon itself in varying colors.

With the Thought of (Peace, Joy, Love, Compassion) #4 2007

Oil and Acrylic on canvas, 40"x50"

The Buddhist entreaty referenced above is repeated upon itself in varying colors.

Oil and Acrylic on canvas, 48"x48" 12 paintings

The Buddhist entreaty referenced above is repeated upon itself in varying colors.

'Commuter Peace, Interconnectedness,' consists of a series of acrylic paintings, inspired by digital photographs taken while commuting to my three jobs.  As an artist educator, I make my living teaching art at two community colleges, as well as California State University Channel Islands.

The idea for the series came to me when I was thinking about how the need for oil has caused war and suffering all over the planet, as well as pollution and global warming, and how I am contributing to these problems.

While commuting I see many beautiful things: the sun rising and setting, clouds, rainbows, waves, dolphins, birds, and people walking and working.  I also see things which pollute:  planes, cars, industrial plants, oil platforms, fires, and litter along the highways.  In a sense all of it has a kind of beauty, an interconnectedness.  

A theme throughout all of my work is a Buddhist entreaty.  There are four repetitions, one for each quality--peace, love, joy, and compassion:

‘With the thought of peace (love, joy, compassion), let me contemplate the world, and may this peace extend to its four horizons.  And peace (love, joy, compassion), increasing beyond measure, let me encompass the whole cosmos up to its confines.’

The final pieces are composites of images from my digital photographs taken while commuting, recomposed to create images of environmentally responsible commuting. They include trains, buses, bike riders, walking, and alternative energy cars (hybrid, bio-diesel and electric). 

Commuter Peace 2006

Oil and Acrylic, 12 "x12" 27 paintings

Roadside images from my commute-

A hang glider, a hybrid car, a truck with trash and graphite, the shadow of my car.

Dawn and the Via Real bell, the ocean adjacent to a power plant spreading pollution, morning traffic headed for Santa Barbara as a I head for Camarillo with no traffic, a horse back rider at dawn.

A power plant spreading pollution with a rear view of the highway, a motorcyclist in front of me at sunrise, sun rise by the wind mills, painted pipes in a field.

Birds on a stop light, someone walking on a beach with oil platforms in the background, sunset with car lights, and deer by the road on the way into the campus at CSUCI.

A chair full of debris standing in a flooded field, the beautiful sky, farm workers on a rainy day, children and a school bus at dawn.

Acrylic, 14 "x14" 4 paintings

These slightly larger paintings are the first of a series of images from my commute. I was looking for ways to minimize the negative impact commuting has on the environment; hybrid cars, buses, trains, bikes, etc. I included my Prius that I had just bought. A small contribution I am making to try to help.

Commuter Peace 2005

Acrylic, 5"x7" 36 paintings

Commuter Peace, Rear View Mirrors 2006

Acrylic, 5"x7" 36 paintings

This piece consists of images that I saw in my rear view mirrors.

Commuter Peace Series 2006

Acrylic, 5"x7" 36 paintings

These paintings are part of 27 12" x 12" paintings of things that I saw during my commute to my three teaching jobs. These would be exhibited in a grid together, with 9 columns and 3 rows. I was looking for beauty: dawn and the Via Real Bell, the ocean and the plant spreading pollution, morning traffic headed for Santa Barbara as I head for Camarillo with no traffic, a horse back rider at dawn.

Commuter Peace Series 2006

Acrylic, 5"x7" 36 paintings

These paintings are part of 27 12" x 12" paintings of things that I saw during my commute to my three teaching jobs. These would be exhibited in a grid together, with 9 columns and 3 rows. I was looking for beauty: a plant spreading pollution with a rear view of the highway, a motorcyclist in front of me at sunset, sunrise by the wind mills, painted pipes in a field.

Commuter Peace Series 2006

Acrylic, 5"x7" 36 paintings

These paintings are part of 27 12" x 12" paintings of things that I saw during my commute to my three teaching jobs. These would be exhibited in a grid together, with 9 columns and 3 rows. I was looking for beauty: birds on a stop light, someone walking on a beach with oil platforms in the background, sunset with car lights, deer by the road on the way into the CSUCI campus.

Commuter Peace Series 2006

Acrylic, 5"x7" 36 paintings

These paintings are part of 27 12" x 12" paintings of things that I saw during my commute to my three teaching jobs. These would be exhibited in a grid together, with 9 columns and 3 rows. I was looking for beauty: a chair full of debris in a flooded field, the beauiful sky, farm workers on a rainy day, children and a school bus at dawn.

Commuter Peace Series 2006

Acrylic, 14"x14" 4 paintings

These slightly larger paintings are the first of a series of images, some not photographed yet, from my commute. I am looking for solutions to minimize the negative effects on the environment from commuting. Hybrid cars, buses, trains, bikes, walking. I included my Prius that I just bought; a small contribution I am making to try to help.

Provence

Photographs that I took with my digital camera while traveling to France to teach art in Provence inspired this piece. Planes, trains, automobiles, people painting, and enjoying Provence. Ending with an image from Iraq.

Media: Acrylic

20 pieces, 5" x 7" each

Blue Fence 1972

Oil painting

Painted on location in Tucson, Arizona

4' x 5'

Rowlings Museum Collection

Blue Fence #2 1972

Oil painting

Painted on location in Tucson, Arizona

4' x 5"

Rowlings Musuem Collection

Cotton Wood 1972

Oil painting

Painted on location in Tucson, Arizona

2' x 2.5'

Cotton Wood #2 1972

Oil painting

Painted on location in Tucson, Arizona

2' x 2.5'

Saguaro 1972

Oil painting.

Painted on location in Tucson, Arizona.

2' x 2.5'

Stream 1990

Oil painting

6' x 5'

Sunlit Hills 1983

Oil painting

Painted on location in Santa Fe, New Mexico

2' x 3'

Tidepools 1990

Oil painting

5' x 5'