This is one of the first paintings I created this last summer after my husband Andrew Madrid and I moved back to Meadowbrook in Riverside CA and rehabbed our new old ranch style home, and after adopting our puppies and kitten, and the first weeks of my sabbatical after being Chair of 2D and teaching 6 years at USC Roski…. There was a lot to be thankful for then, too, but had our hands full with the pets and all the hubbub of major reconstruction of our home…. As always I live through my paintings, and working on this image of the famous @thats.none.of.my.bussiness meme helped keep my calm and process all. I chose the film still from the now infamous Lipton’s Tea commercial where Kermit and Miss Piggy are harassed by crazy multiple Animal Muppets but Kermit has a bright cool moment with his tea, which worked wonderfully for my own respite!

Titian’s Goblet by Thomas Cole is one of my favorites at The American Wing at the Met Museum and is about the bounty of nature in a fantastical scene linked to Norse legend and Greek mythology. I wanted to find the inner world beyond the pixels and the obvious symbology of the Kermit meme and all that it references.

The world is so intense and scary right now but thank goodness at least democracy has been saved for the next two years and the world can still be quite beautiful…. Listening to Beyonce’s new Renaissance album repeatedly while painting, and my 79’s and 89’s record collection helped me to keep my focus, optimism and strength, while connecting to the spirit of my past growing up and still loving the Muppets!