ARTIST STATEMENT

When I step into my studio, I step into possibility. I feel an exhilarating freedom to explore my materials, ideas and emotions and connect with what is most true for me. Inspiration comes from the environment around me and from my own internal landscape. The language of abstraction allows me to best explore and express my ideas and emotions.

I work intuitively using acrylic paint, oil sticks, graphite, charcoal, and a variety of collage materials that engage me. My process involves creating multiple layers of paint and collage, extensive mark-making, and scratching into and eroding the surface with a variety of tools.  In the layering process, many sections of a painting are covered over, yet they still exist.  I can’t erase what has happened to me or what has happened in the world, but I can reframe the experience to something that speaks meaningfully now and brings a moment of peace, hope, possibility and even joy.

My paintings invite the viewer to share and experience my creative journey — a quest to make peace with the chaos and complexity of being human — and feel a sense of resolution, even if the resolution is momentary.