In 2019 I had the sense that all was not well.  My keenly sensitive and aware young child had been making comments about some of her concerns with our environment.

Although I wasn't yet aware of it at that time, this was a catalyst to the start of a new series of paintings for me titled 'Disappearing Landscapes".

Disappearing Landscapes

 'Disappearing Waters'

24 x 24 inches

Acrylic on Cradled Hardboard

This painting was inspired by my daughter's dream of moving to Hawaii when she grows up. She was almost eight years old at the time when we took our first trip to the island of Maui. She was deeply concerned about the environment and the state of our planet. Her biggest fear was that by the time she had the freedom to move, Hawaii might not be the beautiful place she had experienced. We remain hopeful that she will see her dream come true.

As I painted this piece, I thought about the pure joy of childhood play, contrasted with the difficult reality of my own child’s awareness of the complex problems in our world. In her eyes, the issues boiled down to a simple realization: we are not taking good care of the earth, and our environment is in trouble. Her fear that the place she loves may be harmed and vanish grew in her mind and was reinforced by what she saw and heard around her.