Mountain Water Portal
The view from the studio at Mountain Water Retreat in Huerfano, CO. Twenty years ago I studied art and contemplative practices at Naropa University. I reconnected with two of my mentors, artists Joan Anderson & Robert Spellman, who have built a beautiful retreat in Southern Colorado. Their grounded connection to the landscape, and path of stewardship, are ingrained in every day at Mountain Water. Each day there, I experienced a spark of tiny magic in walking about the land.
My Portal Series explores the idea of natural spaces as sanctuaries—both for people and for the unique ecologies they hold. Just as the arched doorways of Gothic churches were designed to inspire reverence, these landscapes act as thresholds—places that invite presence, stillness, and a deeper connection to place.
Each painting invites you to pause, step into the scene, and reflect on your relationship with the natural world. Their purpose is to invite contemplation and be gently returned to yourself, and to your why— to reconnect with the beautiful fragility of the ecology of our brief time on the planet.
The view from the studio at Mountain Water Retreat in Huerfano, CO. Twenty years ago I studied art and contemplative practices at Naropa University. I reconnected with two of my mentors, artists Joan Anderson & Robert Spellman, who have built a beautiful retreat in Southern Colorado. Their grounded connection to the landscape, and path of stewardship, are ingrained in every day at Mountain Water. Each day there, I experienced a spark of tiny magic in walking about the land.
My Portal Series explores the idea of natural spaces as sanctuaries—both for people and for the unique ecologies they hold. Just as the arched doorways of Gothic churches were designed to inspire reverence, these landscapes act as thresholds—places that invite presence, stillness, and a deeper connection to place.
Each painting invites you to pause, step into the scene, and reflect on your relationship with the natural world. Their purpose is to invite contemplation and be gently returned to yourself, and to your why— to reconnect with the beautiful fragility of the ecology of our brief time on the planet.
The view from the studio at Mountain Water Retreat in Huerfano, CO. Twenty years ago I studied art and contemplative practices at Naropa University. I reconnected with two of my mentors, artists Joan Anderson & Robert Spellman, who have built a beautiful retreat in Southern Colorado. Their grounded connection to the landscape, and path of stewardship, are ingrained in every day at Mountain Water. Each day there, I experienced a spark of tiny magic in walking about the land.
My Portal Series explores the idea of natural spaces as sanctuaries—both for people and for the unique ecologies they hold. Just as the arched doorways of Gothic churches were designed to inspire reverence, these landscapes act as thresholds—places that invite presence, stillness, and a deeper connection to place.
Each painting invites you to pause, step into the scene, and reflect on your relationship with the natural world. Their purpose is to invite contemplation and be gently returned to yourself, and to your why— to reconnect with the beautiful fragility of the ecology of our brief time on the planet.
