I came to the Bay Area when I was an adolescent girl in the early sixties. I loved the colorful characters that I encountered on the streets of San Francisco. I met hippies running around on LSD, transvestites, and a prostitute with the sweetest personality. Even now, in my mid-sixties, I love the diversity of San Franciscans. The city welcomes everyone, no matter who they are.
My series “Swept Away by San Franciscans” aims to capture the city’s wide array of inhabitants going about their daily lives. In my oil paintings, I use cool and warm tones to depict San Francisco’s vibrant scenes and contrast light and shadow to capture the city’s characteristically moody atmosphere.
In Beyond the Sea, the overcast weather emphasizes the intensity of the pinks, oranges and blues, creating a dramatic background for the sailors’ tense anticipation of the girl’s response. Another colorful aspect of San Francisco can be seen through Butt Out where I document a naked man strolling on a crowded street. After jumping out of the car and chasing him down the streets to take this picture, I was the only one excited by this sight. For this painting, I subdued the warm colors of this central figure to reflect the passers-by's nonchalant reaction to him.
This series revisits aspects of San Francisco that captivated my imagination fifty years ago.