I make abstract paintings that are connected to and born out of my decades-long interest in the ephemeral, a concept often associated with flowers and nature. The perpetual spinning of the cycle of life and finding beauty in the temporary are major influences on me.
Driven by risk and the unique excitement of exploration and adventure that working with paint can provide, I rely on my intuition and creative history to engage my surfaces with gestural improvisation as well as control. The paintings are not planned and frequently include techniques of redaction and intervention of earlier layers. I’m interested in making paintings that can’t be read in a single viewing but rather, keep giving and revealing themselves in repeated visits.
My stretched canvases begin flat on my studio floor with layers of acrylic paint washes, allowing the colors to spill and drip over the sides of the panels. Once dry, I hang the paintings on my wall and engage the surface with oils and oil sticks. The process takes weeks to months to complete. During this journey, a painting can be painted over multiple times or scraped off entirely, or in part, before continuing. Frequent1y I apply the paint directly with my hands. In some pieces I decide to leave areas of the acrylic underpainting showing through the oils, which can create a sense of depth and space.
I am primarily concerned with infusing life into the paintings and to further understand our relationship with universal patterns in nature and our place in the world.
