Why Purple?

TEN YEARS ago I was asked to paint a mural with the 200 students of TRUS here in Three Rivers, CA – part of a curriculum of artists volunteer teaching. To come up with a process that would work with kids ranging from K-8 grade, I played around with bright backgrounds and bold line. I liked orange the best. The kids filled in the spaces, leaving orange showing next to every line- it gave it a stained glass effect- the colors popped. And when finished the mural was clean and beautiful There are now 4 in town.

I LOVED doing it so much I continued using orange ground color and lines on my canvases , and I paint that way still.

SEVERAL YEARS ago I was asked to paint 16 murals in 2 months for Tulare County Welfare – what became known as my 1st "Marathon Murals" project. My assistant Fabi Belman and I painted the visitation rooms for foster children in 5 towns. We did all but one with the orange ground color.

WHEN WE got to the last one in Dinuba, we were told that the rooms were for mothers visiting with their babies who were born addicted to drugs. We agreed that orange might be too harsh for their little eyes. I experimented with lots of colors and purple worked wonderfully- especially with all the green of the forest. It still had a stain glass (or woodcut) effect, with less vibration.

TODAY I still use those 2 colors. I've tried other colors – some work, some are awful! Every painting is different and I decide before starting which color I think will work the best. I find it interesting that I almost always pick purple for dog portraits.

Nova Color

 MY FAVORITE paint. Nova Color paint from Artex Manufacturing Company in Culver City, CA. I paint all of my acrylic paintings with Nova Color. It is an amazing product, shipped directly to the artist since 1965. Since there is no middle man, the cost is much lower than buying tube paints. I purchase once or twice a year, in gallon size. If I should find I am out of a color, I order online and paints are delivered to my door in 1-2 days. Love that. Customer service is very personal; you can always talk to an expert if you have questions (the first time I painted a mural on a metal tank they were very helpful about preparing the surface.) SO glad I found this paint.