The moods and whims of nature influence my work. Making art is a
deeply engaging process. As an observer by type, my art can be quiet
and contemplative or energetic and aggressive. Drawing from nature’s
forms, ingrained from the countryside of my youth, painting is my
search for meaning. Images imprint themselves on our consciousness as
we see them. But time fades explicit memory. What remains is buried
deep within, and evokes emotion upon recall. strive to reflect that emotional
memory in my work. The art is full of abstractions but also reveals
imagery suggestive of something more established and concrete.
Leaving the everyday realm for the canvas allows the expression of a
full range of emotion: calm, energetic, joyful, and even agitated. Making
art is an outpouring of a need to put things in order – a soul tantrum
or celebration that is played out with paint on a surface. A bold fearlessness
allows me to paint with abandon to best hear a voice speaking to
an understanding of place in nature and the world. Fear, struggle, comfort,
and love are battled and enjoyed through the process. Contrast and
contradictions; action and reaction; expected and unexpected – always
searching for complexity, it is often found in the simplest of forms.
The works evolve into the unfamiliar and unknown. The paintings are not
me. They are offspring, each with a distinctive personality. Conflicts with
the works arise in their creation, but self-discovery takes place along the
way. When a settled place is found, then the painting is complete, and
I feel the serenity and rightness of the the outcome.