Artist Statement

I tend to work with two or more themes or methods at a time. Varying my practice allows me to stay fresh and open to possibilities.

Through my work I explore the contradictions of mystery/adventure and danger/peacefulness found in a deep forest, or the beauty/tragedy and chaos/order experienced in our current world. I can emphasize a forest’s deep space using layered matte medium to draw one inward beyond the surface of the canvas or highlight the violence/hope of climate change or mass migration while using mixed media and collage to bring the materials closer to and off of the visual surface.

The Forest represents for me the interior life. It can evoke contradictory feelings: mystery/expectation, danger/protection, terror/peacefulness, freedom/confinement. To emphasize the spacial depth that can draw one into such spaces, I work with layers of matte medium and acrylic paint, creating a palpable sense of depth and distance.

Working in abstract conceptual painting, I explore the forces that drive migration: War, oppression, poverty, and the effects of climate change: drought, famine, sea level rise, desertification, extreme weather events. I alternate between applying color and building up the surface of the canvas. I might use plaster, fabric, paper, papier mache, polyethylene foam, found objects, and other materials to create a contoured and varied surface.