I am an experimental artist who loves to play with the materials – always looking for something different – to find new solutions. I love color but my work is not about color as such. It is more about light, spatial relationships, movement and/or a specific idea or emotion. It includes a dialogue between the materials and the artist. The work moves in the direction the work itself dictates. Every picture is a new birth – a fresh experience and a spontaneous moment frozen in time. Form is created from imagination but culled from nature. The abstract work must refer to something other than itself. It must communicate in some way and make a connection with the viewer. I am wrestling with the issue of balance between representational, easily recognized icons, and pure abstraction. I wish to pass my love of the process on to another mind and spirit. I am looking for an emotional response while not relying on the easy, predictable solutions. For me, the process is itself a liberating and sensual experience and I hope it shows in my work.
I've spent a number of years engaged in "plein air" painting in all kinds of weather and it is this experience that I have taken into the print format. My abstractions reflect these years of observing and absorbing the energy of earth. I first felt this energy fully sitting deep in the woods following a snowstorm. I thought it would be complete silence; it was an electric silence. This is what excites me and when I can get it in my work, I am filled with joy.
My work includes color, monochromatic and black and white series of paintings/monotypes. Why black and white? Black and white images can be more pure, more direct without the distraction which can occur with color. In these works, I want the viewer to focus on the image itself and the spirit I feel exists in them.
