Artist Statement

Visual art has the capability to move  an observer to tears. I had this experience years ago when attending a retrospective of Pierre Bonnard's work in New York.  Making artwork can have a similar transcendent effect on me as the maker, when all of the elements and materials finally meld into a finished piece.  I paint with acrylic mixed media on panel, incorporating layers of pigment, glue, paper and drawing material.  Working with a variety of materials enables me to create pieces with rich contrasts and subtleties.  I refer to the human figure and animal forms as a source of endless visual interest.

My current work seeks to present characters from potentially distant eras and locales set into a modern, abstract construct.  I draw inspiration from historical portraits, vintage photographs, family memorabilia.  My great aunt made innumerable scrapbooks filled with charming images of flora, fauna, and illustrations of all types of human interaction, which often influence the content of my paintings. I am continually drawn to stories and images of incidents, both real and imagined, and I aim to recreate some sense of their wonder in my work.