In late 2015, I decided to try my hand at art.  Literally.  So, I started art classes at the local LGBT Community Center in Palm Springs.  The Center had the best volunteer artist/teacher a fledgling artist could possibly hope to have.  Dennis Jory finally retired from volunteering in 2016.  But for about a full year under his watchful eye and extremely good humor I learned  how to use colored pencils, then progressed to pen/ink and then worked on water color.  (Turned out I'm terrible at water color, so I stuck with the other two instead.)  We started out using 8.5 x 11 sheets of 120lb paper, thus the first set of drawings below is in that format.  Afterward, we shifted to larger format stock.

It took considerable patience and extreme attention to detail to learn this new craft.  Some people are what I call natural artists.  They can do this blindfolded.  I'm a trained artist. There is nothing natural about this to me - unlike novel writing, which came completely naturally.  It takes a lot of time and effort for me to get this sorted out. A LOT of time.  Like, gobs. Luckily, I'm retired and have said time.

Work your way down this page to see a chronological order of my work.  Newest is at the bottom of this page.

* All drawings on this page were done by ME. I claim ownership.

In late 2015 we started right away on portraits.  We worked for months on 8.5 x 11 art stock.  After multiple attempts I started to figured out what needed to be done.  This is my attempt at Gavin McIntosh from the TV series 'The Fosters'.  He's way cute, no?

After drawing Gavin above in late 2015 I came across a rare color glamour photo of the iconic Lucille Ball.  I had no choice but to draw her.

Along comes spring of 2016.  We went to a local pool party.  Our new friend, a drag queen from Chicago, jumped into the pool on a float in her mini-skirt, pumps and full buffante.  Oh, there was a cocktail in her hand, too.  But this is the Hockneyesque image I needed to draw.

Here in Palm Springs we worked really hard to save a particularly pristine canyon from developers.  The reason is because this one has a ton of wildlife in it.  As of this post we think we have a shot at keeping it out of the hands of an out-of-town developer and in the 'people's' hands so we can continue to hike it.

Oswit Canyon in spring. Features: Flame skimmer dragonfly, cattails, Indian paintbrush wildflower, tiny toad (species unknown), Mojave poppy wildflower, Charming centuary wildflower, rushes, and other species.

The last thing I drew on smaller format art stock, exclusively using colored pencils was this 'boy next door' drawing.  We had just learned how to draw feet, which I found easier to draw than hands.  All of my drawings originate from either other drawings or photos.  This photo had no hands in it. It was perfect. 

After learning how to use colored pencils exclusively, we started on pen and ink.  This was my first attempt at using pen/ink along with colored pencils. I love using the combo of the two.

One of my fave places of all time is Joshua Tree National Park.  We're blessed that it's only an hour from our home.  This is one of my fave views in the Park. Still on 8.5x11 art stock.  But I'm using a combo of pen/ink and colored pencils.

Who doesn't like pen/ink + colored pencil mushrooms?

Towering above us here in the Coachella Valley is Mt. San Jacinto.  The state park surrounding the peak is an alpine wonderland.  My husband and I took a late spring 2016 trip up on the tram and crunched thru forest snow while patchy fog drifted by.  It was magical. Pen/ink + colored pencil.

This is a tiny portion of a structure that was built by Bugsy Siegal in the late 20s.  It was abandoned despite still being under construction in the 1929 Crash.  It's still here in Palm Springs. Pen/ink + colored pencil.

A lighthouse on a pier in New Haven, MI. I took this photo several years ago while visiting there. I was experimenting with a photo app that transforms the colors of photos into their complimentary color.  This is the result of drawing that reversal in pen/ink + colored penicls. (c) 2016

Summer 2016, I experimented with diff iPhone apps that do all sorts of interesting things to photos.  I don't recall the app name that did this but the result was calling me out to draw it. Pen/ink + colored pencil.

In the summer of 2015 we visited Athens.  This is another experiment using an iPhone app that transforms photos. The result of this transformation lent itself perfectly for yet another pen/ink + colored pencil drawing.

During the summer of 2016, I officially said goodbye to paper stock and began working with matte (or Crescent) board.  With the basics down, it was time to work in a larger format.  This is a 16x20 colored pencil drawing of a little bell by a neighbor's gate. I had passed by this gate a hundreds times already while walking the dog but never gave it a good look.  I whipped out my iPhone, took a few shots and this is the result of my discovery! Summer 2016 / colored pencil

I really, really, really like doing portraits.  When I stumbled across this image of Tab Hunter it nearly screamed out at me to draw him.  It's now framed. Summer 2016 / colored pencil

In 2010, we visited Buenos Aires.  I took this photo in La Boca.  It was years before I ever knew I would be working on art.  I tell you, it was PERFECT to draw. Summer 2016 / colored pencil

This larger format is awesome.  And it was finally time to start drawing the main characters in my novels.  I had set that as a goal months before. This is my attempt to draw Scott Faraday from Desert Sons. I found the perfect photo of someone who resembles who I imagine Scott to look like. 

I put him in Joshua Tree National Park (I took the photo of the background), a place we both love so much.  I had to take several photos of my OWN HAND, adjust the size of the image, print the images out and attempted several times to draw it in that position.  I can only do this if I have a photo to work from.  It was extremely difficult to do. Summer 2016 / colored pencil

With Scott Faraday safely drawn, framed and how hanging on our wall it was time to draw Ryan St. Charles (the antagonist from Desert Sons) in the environment where he grew up, which is the Jedediah Smith State Park. I particularly love this one. Summer 2016 / colored pencil

After really getting into drawing those two boys I had to continue with that theme.  This one isn't from my novels.  I call him simply 'Aaron'. This is from a photo I didn't take. Summer 2016  / colored pencil

In summer 2015 we visited the Vatican.  We were very lucky that day.  There were two extremely cute papal guards on duty that day.  I drew the cuter of the two and decided his name is 'Luca', which is a common Swiss name. Summer 2016 / colored pencil

This is our Westie named Radar.  He was less than one year old when I took this photo.  It's an experiment in impressionism. Summer 2016 / colored pencil

'Ecstasy' / Sept 2016. The image of Icarus flying has stayed with me since I was a youth.  Altho the story is about the folly of hubris, I couldn't bring myself to see it that way.  I find that moral to be quite unimaginative.  Instead, I always saw Icarus as following his bliss. Thus, the title of this drawing.

My muse for this was by Gabriel Picart (a Spanish artist).  That was just the starting point. I could only hope to be so talented as that man.

'Kadir S'Tisi on Nyhavn'. Sep 2016.

If you've read the middle story in my novel called The Heart of the Cluster, you were introduced to a character named Kadir S'Tisi.  This is how I would imagine him two years after landing on Nyhavn.

Trenekis / 2016

From my novel Trenekis of Hiera, Tren has frequent experiences of extreme emotions, some of which sent him into ecstasy.  This is how I imagine Trenekis Idero as he's in orbit on the Farwinds with Niko Savaidras, in the final scene of the story.

'The Enterprise'

Inspired by the 50th anniversary of Star Trek and the new 'Forever' stamp set, I drew my very first starship.

Sep 2016

'Spock's Hand'

Sept 2016

My interpretation of the second of four US Star Trek stamps issued in 2016.  This is the last of the series I intend to draw.  It's on to other things now.

'Daniel'

Nov 2016

Speaks for itself, if you ask me.

I never heard of this actor until I saw him in the scifi series called Timeless.  (That's how little TV I watch.)

Matt Lanter I  / Nov 2016

So, Timeless is a pretty fun show and this actor is so handsome that I had to draw him a second time.

Matt Lanter II / Nov 2016

#HeidiKlum / Nov 2016

She's secretly married to me now that she's no longer with Seal.

Trenekis Idero headed toward Sanctuary on the mesa where he and Keenam spent a LOT of time.

colored pencil / Dec 2016

'Vermeer Envy'
Jan 2017

Colored pencil on Crescent board.

Feb 2017

'Just Woke Up'

Colored pencil on Crescent board.

'Trance Addict'

April 2016

20x16 colored pencil on Crescent board

'Mountain Lake

May 2017

Colored pencil on white Canson board.

My first drawing with Luminance colored pencils.  Wow.  I *love* these pencils.  They're more like paints in that they give rich deep color. 16x20 on white Canson board.

Zack (my great-nephew) / He just turned 10 y.o. so I drew a portrait of him. He's half Samoan so he looks a bit Asian.

June 2017

High Sierra Fence (from a photo I took in 1980)

July 2017

Luminance colored pencils on Canson paper

16x20

'Anomaly'

July 2017

Pen/ink + Luminance colored pencils on toned gray paper

16x20

'Surprise'

Aug 2017

Graphite + charcoal

16x20

'Broken Window'

Aug 2017

Graphite + charcoal

16x20

'Headed Out'

Aug 2017 / Luminance colored pencils on gray toned Strathmore paper.

16x20

Until last week (Aug 2017) I had no idea this statue existed.  It's in Moscow and is of Yuri Gagarin, the first human being to orbit our planet.  It looks so superhero-like and it depicts such a monumental event that I had no choice but to draw it.

Sep 2017 / Luminance colored pencils on gray toned Strathmore paper.

16x20

'Becoming Real'

Sept 2017   |    Pen/ink + Prismacolor Premier colored pencils on toned gray Strathmore paper.

16x20

'Marek'

Oct 2017 / Graphite

16x20

'Zoë'

Oct 2017  / Graphite

16x20

'Jayden'

Dec 2017 / Colored Pencils

16x20

Diving Helmet

Dec 2017 / Pen & Ink + graphite

16x20

Winterscape

Jan 2018 / Colored Pencil on white paper

16x20

Gus Kenworthy (US Olympic Freestyle Skier)

Feb 2018 / Colored Pencil on tan paper

16x20

Jan  2019

I basically blew off uploading artwork for most of 2018. So sorry about that.

In my studio I looked out the slider and decided that I would draw what I saw out there with colored pencils.

11x14" image

Jan 2019

I've been seriously busy this year, basically completing at least one drawing every week (while I'm not away).

'Signals'

16x20

Colored Pencils

Jan 2019

I reached my hand up into the sky one day and photographed it. I liked how that looked, so drew it as if it were coming out of a cloud bank and reaching for the sun.

20x24"

Colored Pencils

Jan 2019

I've been doing Transcendental Meditation for over 40 years. This is my depiction of what it's like to meditate.

11x14"

Colored Pencils

Feb 2019

'Radar'

Dat's my Westie. He turned 6 in Feb, so I drew him. He's super friendly and loves to kiss everyone.

16x20" / Colored Pencils (oil basesd ones this time).

Feb 2019

I'm a total, complete, utter Trance fanatic. Have been so for 20 years now. At first, I thought I might be able to do this by drawing a lot of dots. But that quickly was a NO WAY. So, I bought a bunch of adhesive dots and made this design instead. Yes, I sorta stole it from Above and Beyond. But I put my own twist on it.

18x24"  / Avery adhesive dots + pen/ink

Feb 2019

A distant cousin of mine named Calvin. He's the only other gay person in our entire lineage. Well, out gay person.

18x18" / Colored Pencils

Feb 2019

'Muse'

18x18"

Colored Pencils

Feb 2019

I read a huge article on early cave art and decided to try my hand at it. And that's my hand there...

18x18"

Colored pencil