As you look through these pages, you might notice that composition, color, and texture are more important to me than subject. When those three components are balanced, they create a whole that satisfies or speaks. Or maybe inspires, which is particularly lovely. Inspiration and connectedness are what I hope to achieve in making abstract rather than realistic art.
Although my drawings and paintings depart from realism, two things usually sneak in: elements of nature and aspects of the spiritual. I focus on several ideas: the relationship between past and present, material and incorporeal; light, freedom, and motion; and the myriad ways nature links us to the Divine.
I use collaged, marked-up layers to develop paintings with a history that symbolizes history in life. I like the visceral look of paint slathered on a surface and the way it obscures or reveals drawing and marks. That process of building up layers of painting and drawing creates a story. I want the viewer to be lured into it, seeing from a distance a strong composition-or main "story idea"-and then coming close for the quiet dialogue.
Many of my landscapes suggest aerial views-with reference to flight, higher perspective, and seeing the world differently. I often use words, iconography, and pattern ⦠because I'm a word person and an OCD person. A fascination with old, worn surfaces-which convey so much human living-shows up frequently.
