Artist Statement

My abstract paintings involve the development and transformation of an initial, fleeting image into a fully executed painting. I try to magnify some compelling aspect of life that, though depicted abstractly, is also familiar and memorable and at the same time mysterious. I employ the use of multiple layers and textures of acrylic paint, plus various elements like fabric, string, paper and found objects. In addition to acrylic paintings on canvas, I also do abstract paintings on paper using watercolor, gouache and acrylic paint, as well as monotypes on paper using oil-based inks. In all cases I want to convey a sense of movement, depth and change over time. Layers and textures are apt metaphors for human life experience, whether thinking of life as a chronology of events, layer upon layer, or any one event perceived in a variety of ways by different people.

I began drawing and painting as a young child, though my career choice as a young adult took me seemingly far afield from the visual arts. I was a nurse in psychiatry for twenty years, which was conducive to the development of my ability to see and assess complex human behaviors – to look beyond surface presentation to deeper meanings. Painting is not so different. It involves communication and meaning; it addresses that which is apparent and on the surface vs. that which is more hidden and implied. As part of this process, I explore on canvas and on paper the interrelationship of color, texture, layering and the hieroglyphic-like images I use that speak to nature, to times ancient and to times preverbal.

People are driven to understand the most unfathomable of issues – existence itself, how we make choices, how we may best give and express ourselves. Painting is my primary way to be deeply engaged in this search for meaning and expression.