I am currently exhibiting my first series of croque debris small botanical watercolor paintings at the Starbucks Coffee on 2727 Mariposa (@ Bryant).
"Croque debris" translates to “debris sketch”. I coined the term in 2014 with the help of my artist friend Chantal Fournier of Quebec, Canada. This series began as a part of my semi-daily exercise routine at Mira Vista Park in Richmond, California. After my morning walk, run or workout, I would find a leaf with an interesting shape or color and commit to a 45-minute- to hour-long watercolor painting. Then, I would photograph and upload the painting to my Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram accounts with the original subject beside the painting.
Each painting teaches me something new about seeing color and detail, compositions, and finding interesting cast shadows.
I owe much of my renewed passion for painting from life to my experiences as an MFA student at the Academy of Art University. Instructors John Poon and Zhaoming Wu were instrumental
in reintroduced me to the humbling ritual of painting from life. Croque debris is a meditation on cycles of decay and renewal in the urban landscape where nature is always the better painter and a great teacher.
