I work in multiple styles that include large scale paintings in acrylic mixed with diatomaceous earth, as well as in digital media. My acrylic paintings are heavily textured with expressive brush strokes that add movement and energy, and color harmonies meticulously built from several layers of translucent and opaque paint. My digital images are what I call “digital drawings” because they all start as pencil drawings on paper, which are then scanned and redrawn by hand in Illustrator, then meticulously colored using  Illustrator and Photoshop in much the same way as my layered acrylic paintings. My subjects in both media include light and color, patterns from life, science and math, dots, spots, circles, particles, waves, energy, flowing lines, spirals, mandalas and abstract landscapes. Inspirations include Op Art of the 60’s and 70’s, Victor Vasarely, Yaakov Agam, Mark Rothko, Vincent Van Gogh, Emilio Pucci, Alan Turing, biology, geometry, astronomy, physics, quantum physics and metaphysics.

I believe that there are unseen patterns and structures that exist in multiple dimensions across this universe, and others, surrounding, connecting and influencing everything in the material and non-material realms. My aim as an artist is to capture the essence of those unseen structures and bring them forth into the visible physical world in the form of colors, images and patterns.

I am inspired by the interconnectedness of all things: by the patterns and structures of plants and animals; by the way the vibrational frequencies of sound can translate into visual patterns; by the way the frequencies of spinning electrons can create color and how color can in turn emanate vibrational frequencies; by the mysteries of quantum physics, the mysteries of the multiverse and the mystery called life.

The Repeat Patterns: I have always been fascinated with repeat patterns because of their infinite nature. Endless repeat patterns are like holograms or DNA in the way that a small snippet contains all of the information needed to recreate the entire structure. The art is the pattern itself that can never be shown in its entirety because it goes on forever. What can be shown is merely a snapshot of a section of the art, created by cropping the pattern within a specific shape or size. The resulting image can only be a representation of the piece, not the entire piece. The entire piece exists only in the realm of the imagination.

I was born into a creative family in Berkeley, California in 1958 at the height of the beatnik movement. My Mom, an actress, musician and artist, was the daughter of Sicilian immigrants and my Dad is an architect and inventor of Siberian Tatar heritage, born in Turkey and educated in Italy. My early life was full of turmoil and change as my Mom became very ill and our family packed up and moved to Bangkok, Thailand, where she eventually passed away from her illnesses. Soon after, my Dad met and married an adventurous German born photographer who became my second Mom. Our family then moved again to Hong Kong and later to Hawaii where my parents built an Asian art and antique import business that became very successful called Treasures of the East. All of these varied locations, experiences and cultures have had their influence on my art aesthetic.

I finished high school in Kailua, on Oahu, Hawaii, and then went on to attend Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, earning a BFA in Graphic Design with honors and a full scholarship.

My career path has also seen much change and evolution, including the roles of graphic designer, illustrator, art director, creative director, licensed artist and fine artist. Soon after graduation from college, I married Daniel Feldman, and together we founded Ogdemli Feldman Design based in Los Angeles, which over the years grew to a staff of over 10 talented designers and illustrators working under my creative direction. We created logos, packaging, advertising and catalogs for a variety of industries including children’s entertainment, software, fashion, sports and music. Highlights of that time included creating logos, tickets and program illustrations for several Super Bowls and creating a whole collection of fun stationery for Paper Moon Graphics. In 2000 we founded Designs by Shan and started licensing my illustrations onto thousands of products including home furnishings, giftware, stationery, apparel, fabrics, handbags and cosmetic bags. We bought a dance studio building in Burbank, CA, converting it into a beautiful, 4000 square foot, light-filled art and design studio. In 2005 we teamed up with our licensing agents, Lifestyle Licensing International, to launch our jointly owned lifestyle fashion brand called Pampered Girls. The brand quickly became an international phenomenon with three stand-alone stores and over 50 in-store boutiques in Japan, stores in Taiwan and thousands of licensed products sold on every continent.

2008 came along and hit our design and art licensing business hard. We lost our beautiful studio building, had to let all of the staff go and moved our business into our small Hollywood Hills home, which we barely managed to save. I had always painted whenever I could while running the studio, with the eventual goal of selling the design business so I could focus on my art full time. However, the tough economy and the needs of our growing family kept pushing that dream just beyond our reach.

We had adopted our son, Geoff, at 13 years old a few years earlier, who had a tough early life and needed quite a bit of attention and resources to recover. Later we took guardianship of our 2 nieces, Ellen and Sofia, one at a time, when each were 14 years old. They also had tough early lives and needed much attention and resources. To help make ends meet, in 2012 we started what we thought would be a fun little side business of doggie daycare and boarding in our home called Hounds of the Hills. It turned out that there was a huge need for such a service in the Hollywood Hills and our doggie business quickly blossomed into a thriving, busy enterprise that eclipsed all of our other businesses. It was a blast, allowed us to recover financially and turned out to be wonderful therapy for the kids.

In 2021, with the kids all grown up and housing prices at an all time high, we decided it was finally time to make our move. We sold our beautiful little Hollywood Hills home of 28 years, sold the doggie business, and in the Spring of 2022 moved to Santa Fe, NM to pursue our lifelong dream of focusing full time on building my art career. We rented a house not far from the city center with a nice big studio room, and I am happily finally spending all my time making art!

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