Artist's Statement

Abstraction gives the audience permission to think and feel simultaneously and to view art on conscious levels that may not be literally identifiable.
Exhibited in my paintings is an equal emphasis on content, execution and media. They are a synthesis of my love for painting, composition, music, nature and the study of various levels of consciousness. There is a flux in consciousness reflected in my gestural strokes and the several levels of paint. It is the spontaneity of the paint that allows the experience in painting to become a celebration. Through this dance of painting I can find image even though I cannot always identify the source. The very act of painting helps to include incidental events of the day and elevates them to the monumental. For example, in one day I may observe by chance young lovers holding hands, and take a walk in the woods; by evening I enter the studio contemplating color and composition. At that moment in time I hear the birds outside building their nests. All of these events and thoughts may enter one painting. I know this only after the painting is finished. So the process of painting enables me to portray many planes of life experience, and the energy that runs through me brings it all together.

The influence of Joan Mitchell, Jackson Pollock, Frank Stella, William de Kooning, Terrence LaNoue, Nick Cave, and Elizabeth Murray, just to name a few, give me the inspiration to work in the style that personally suits me. To render or illustrate would not permit the inclusion of feelings. Abstraction gives the audience permission to view art on conscious levels that may not be literally identifiable. Consequently, my art can be a way for social healing if I can inspire the viewer to be more aware of an unfamiliar part of themselves.