Santa Cruz: Then & Now Acrylic on Canvas Triptych 9ft x 4ft 2026

ARTIST RECEPTION

Come celebrate the installation of this painting at Santa Cruz: Then & Now is a love letter to Santa Cruz, California where I have lived for 53 years. I was 19 years old when I first arrived. So young, I was yearning to find my tribe-kids who questioned the conventions of our elders and relished change. Santa Cruz fit the bill. In Santa Cruz you could be weird and no one noticed. It's a place where you had the grace to figure stuff out. It was here that I finally felt accepted and found my voice. Santa Cruz sustained me as I fumbled my way through adulthood.

And then in 2023 the unexpected happened and I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Even more unexpected was the outpouring of love and support my family received. My Santa Cruz community wouldn't let me give up. It's a truism that "it takes a village" and in my case it saved me. I'm forever humbled and grateful.