ArtPrize has been an incredible experience for the city of Grand Rapids and artists alike. I've entered four years in a row and it's not to win, but just to participate in something bigger than myself. For more information, visit www.artprize.org 

For this entry, I completed 2 panoramic drawings. My idea was to create a banner or poster style effect. The top landscape can be viewed from either the horizontal or vertical view. The bottom was an epiphany from my very active dog interrupting me taking a panoramic photo.

Top: Heaven's Trail, 2017, 12x57", oil pastel on flat canvas

Bottom: The Grand Adventure of Perseus, 2017, 14x64", mixed media on paper

This year I continued the multimedia approach. After years of attending ArtPrize, I observed the chronic compulsion to touch art by viewers. I created 2 paintings with tactile surfaces. I used rice & beans for the gravel on the trail, twine for the tree trunks and branches, hairs from a synthetic feather duster for bushes and grass, and cotton fluff for the leaves. I painted the textured surface with acrylic paint, watercolor and colored ink.

The Path Ahead and the Path Behind, 2016, 12x28" each, mixed media on canvas

This year I created 4 multimedia paintings. I used canvas, torn paper, acrylic paint, watercolor, oil pastel, charcoal and graphite.

Top left: Learning to Fly (#2) 2014,  24x12", acrylic on canvas

Top center: Sweet Afternoon, 2014, 36x24", acrylic on canvas

Top right: Soma, 2014, 12x36", acrylic on canvas

Bottom left: Circle, 2014 12x36" acrylic on canvas

Bottom center: Dust in the Wind, 2014, acrylic on canvas

Bottom right: Animal Bar, 2014, acrylic on canvas

"What I want to show the World..." 5x4' portrait of my daughter , Chelsea. She lived with Rett Syndrome and couldn't sit, walk, or talk. She had beautiful personality and a smile that are unforgettable. She passed away suddenly shortly after I started this project. The irony was devastating, but the completion was exhilarating.

"Sanctuary" This entry was a grouping of a 4x4' coffee table & two 3x4' paintings meant to create a peaceful, personal space. I had a small office room in my venue that year & included the drawings from which I started.

I painted a series of 12 tree landscapes & set them up at my venue so the viewer could walk through them like a grove of trees. Not all the paintings are shown here.