Artist Statement

In the work presented on this website, the viewer can follow the development of my art form from watercolor to collage and encaustic.

In the paintings found in the Wild and Domestic Collection, you see a realistic work requiring a more exacting rendition of the subject which is offset by an abstracted, somewhat geometric background. Through the rendition of just one or two animals one grasps the sense of isolation. The steady gaze of the animal looking out at the viewer tells us that perhaps there is more than meets the eye.

In the Opus And Technicolor Cows Collections, an abstract quality is achieved using the three primaries. The results is an uneven pattern similar to batik cloth. The colors may mix or remain the pure colors of yellow, red and blue and the white of the paper. After the paint has dried I sketch the subject on the paper and begin drawing it out of the background using negative painting in the background and watercolor crayons to emphasis the positive image creating layer on top of layer in ever changing dimensions. This entire process creates a depth and excitement for the viewer.

Sacred Words employs the use of airbrush over an underpainting of a word with jumbled letters. This series of paintings conveys the concerns we all have for our society today. The goal of the work is to cause the viewer to re-examine the artwork and in so doing, consider the distortions of the values the words convey in the world today.

My newest work--Terra and Celestial Bearings--continues my work. The Terra Series may suggest unknown continents and the symbols chart a path to new frontiers.  The travel to a distant countries  gives the viewer the opportunity to conjure their own unique story for each painting.  Another interpretation is the juxtaposition of the human imprint on nature-- building a bridge between the planet and man’s attempt to exact a structure on the organic.

Celestial Bearings is a natural progression bringing attention to the mysteries of the skies.  Again, these are unknown parts of the universe and prompt one to take their imagination along on this expedition to the outer limits.  There is no attempt to portray actual stars, planets and other heavenly bodies.  There is an emphasis on beginnings and personal quests.

The theme that carries through my work is the search for truth whether it is in the dead-on stare of a Longhorn Steer, the jumbled words of shared values, or a stretch to find what we search for.