Stegasaur

Stegasaur
Oil on Canvas Panel
6x12"

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This is Taylor climbing a boulder problem called Stegasaur in Hueco Tanks State Park, Texas. It is an amazing, thought provoking problem, which involves climbing wave type rock features under the roof of a cave. None of the holds are positive, and Taylor performed some incredibly gymnastic moves to emerge from the murky depths. I spied this quite revolting vantage point from the outside of the cave, and despite the copious rat and bat scat, crawled in to capture this image. I'm glad I did now, because I think it's one of the most successful climbing images I took out of our whole road trip - and that's saying something - I've got thousands of digital photographs, drawings and paintings from the 18 months or so we were traveling for.

A common theme is emerging from both my paintings and photographs...light. Dramatic light, usually from a single source, is becoming the defining feature of my work. It's strange, I've always been interested in light effects, chiaroscuro particularly, but I'm only finding now that my compositions are just organically trending 'toward the light'.

This is a study, as most of these daily paintings are, and I'll post the final painting when it's done...it's going to be HUGE!!

Taping up for Babyface

Taping up for Babyface
Oil Canvas Panel, 4x6"

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This is a painting of my husband Taylor, inspired by our climbing trip to Hueco Tanks, Texas. 'Taping up' refers to the practice of taping the fingers prior to rock climbing. We use white zinc oxide tape, and it helps protect the tendons in your fingers. When climbing, especially bouldering (which is an intense form of climbing without ropes), there is an immense amount of weight borne on the fingers, and injuries are common.

Taping up can also become part of the ritual prior to attempting a hard climb - preparing yourself mentally and physically, might involve chalking your hands, cleaning your shoes to achieve maximum friction, and visualisation - of the moves, of success.

I loved this image - I think it's both personal and universal. Most people have little rituals they perform (often unknowingly) before they do something important, or stressful, or momentous...like exams, flying (if you're scared), first dates, etc. Before I start a big painting I have a series of things I have to do before I'm ready - eg. organise my space, make sure there are no distractions, and wake up knowing that I'm going to paint that day - all those little things which help to focus on the task at hand.