Delicate Reveries & Subtle Hopes

Spring Abstracts | Delicate Reveries & Subtle Hopes

Finally, the days are getting longer! I have been doing a lot of journal writing this winter, developing and reflecting on goals for the season and for 2026 in general. Included in this are reflections on 2026 as the Year of the Horse and what that means to me and how different it is from 2025’s Year of the Snake (where we shed our skin and start over) and what that all means. I have been in need of renewal for awhile now, totally succumbing to burn-out, overwork, over-doing, and over-thinking for the past 40 years.

So, in response, I permanently closed my art gallery in November last year and have been “taking it slow” since New Year’s Day — mostly staying home, seriously reducing the speed of my daily living, focusing on reading actual books and beautiful full-color magazines, writing my childhood memoir, cooking dinner everyday, cleaning and tidying my house, resting and contemplating, making things, talking on the phone with friends and family, and….making art. I have been trying to limit my intake of political news. I am also doing better at saying no in order to say yes.

These new abstract floral paintings reflect the quiet contemplation on healing and renewal I have been focusing on as I wait for spring to approach. They feature imaginary blooms emerging as softened forms in layered, muted colors. This is a new-ish color palette for me of dusty pinks, purples, and blues, plus sage green and gentle off-whites — coupled with dramatic mustard, day-glow yellow, and magenta (one of my favorite colors) — to create a visual language rooted in both calm as well as a beckoning intrique and mystery.

The overall feeling is meditative and peaceful — their delicate ambiance offers a soothing pause and a moment of visual breathing.

I loved making them — they add a whole new look and energy to my visual expression.