I tripped and broke my elbow late September. For weeks, I found myself too nervous to walk much at all while my arm was healing. Everywhere I looked I saw trip and slip hazards. Water on the pavement, leaves, plastic bags, frozen puddles, un-even concrete — treacherous enemies laying in wait to pull me down.[…]

If you pay attention to the craft of painting, the expression will follow. It’s like building a home for your muse. No floor? walls? No roof? Not very inviting.

I was born in 1963, in Big Sur, California, and grew up at my family’s restaurant, Nepenthe. I remember so many moments from childhood, like stills from a film. Peeking through the curtains to see everyone dancing down below. Astrology parties with free birthday cake and champagne and dancing under the stars. Beating tin can[…]

How do we paint together? Kaffe lives in London, I live in Big Sur. He works in acrylic, I work in oil. He is a textile designer, I am a fine art painter. We come together around color, and we find all the color we could want in the still life. In my mother’s house[…]

Monterey Museum of Art May 14-August 23, 2020 Influences When I was a child I remember my uncle Kaffe returning from his travels, hanging a bedsheet from the rafters of Nepenthe and projecting slides of his knitwear to the collective gasps of the audience – dinner guests, employees, and family members all. In my twenties,[…]

At Nepenthe, we have long had The Free Box, a place where people have dropped off stuff they no longer need and picked up stuff that others are passing on (think books, kitchen ware, clothing, even furniture.) In Great Britain, Repair Cafes are springing up – places where you can bring something to be fixed,[…]

We’re coming back! Join us at Carmo on Julia Street for Tom’s “I Can’t Draw and You Can Too!” class December 28 1-4pm. The class is $60 and includes all materials. My slideshow “Awaken The Artist Within” follows at 4:30-5:30. Also at Carmo, it’s free and will send your home dreaming in full color! Meantime[…]