Menopause Paintings
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I see the California mystique, not as advertisers sell it, but as a humorous paradigm of life at the edge of the ocean. In my watery garden of delights and toxins, many things roll in with the tide besides surfers. Destroyers and fighter planes practice warfare maneuvers amidst tourists and pleasure crafts. Tsunami waves and earthquakes interrupt the party. All is lost . . . all is fun . . . another day of peril in paradise.
Tsunami Dog, acrylic on plywood 1989
Poolside - 1985
Poolside - 1985
 Wave Knowledge - 1990
Wave Knowledge - 1990
 Pooljam - 1986
Pooljam - 1986
Pool Area - 1987
Pool Area - 1987
 Split Ends - 1989
Split Ends - 1989
Aguamania - 1986
Aguamania - 1986
The beach and the ocean are metaphors for the last environmental frontier, and the new global village that California has become. Originally inspired by Hokusai's deep-sea wave (from the Fuji woodcut series), I've also incorporated Masami Teraoka's pop meeting of Japanese and American cultures in my visual playgrounds. My work is filled with imagery that blends pop culture, media reportage, surf industry photography, diving and swimwear catalogs and pure whimsy. To all of this, I add my observation as a swimmer in the waters I'm depicting and as a voyeur walking the So Cal shoreline.
Earth Rhumba - 1989
Earth Rhumba - 1989
 White Water Wipe Out - 1989
White Water Wipe Out - 1989
 Jacuzzi Jitters - 1989
Jacuzzi Jitters - 1989
A Flippant Attitude - 1989
A Flippant Attitude - 1989
 I Moved to San Diego - 1986
I Moved to San Diego - 1986
 California Dreaming - 1990
California Dreaming - 1990

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All images © Helen Redman