Last Thursday I went to the Utah Arts Festival and it was like Christmas for my artist. Barb Campbell, who only comes once every couple of years was there... so I bought a piece (or more) of her work. Some of my new pieces are in the middle photo above. It is Barb's work that has directly inspired many of my paintings. I enjoyed visiting with her and printed off some of my

paintings with her work in it. Many people have asked where my long necks came from. It was from one of her vases... the one in my painting "Learning to See." I love to see artists who do something so completely unique that it could have only come from them. I respect what Barb creates as just that.

I painted this masked woman yesterday. Every once in a while these paintings come from me that have many shades of blue. Sometimes I just find blues so completely soothing and beautiful, and I love the way different shades interact together. For me blue often shows up in my paintings when I am thinking about angels and craving a connection to spirit. The first time masks appeared in my art was in my sketchbook during a train ride through Europe. I had to chuckle when I realized that I had just left Venice (a city known for it's elaborate masks). I drew them so unaware of the subconscious influence my surroundings had on me. Since that time I have occasionally used masks in my work. They hold a very personal and significant meaning to me.