My Process

"Sometimes I walk through my studio looking for inspiration or painting that isn’t quite done, or one that speaks to be painted on once again. Or I may find that I’m in the mood for a new, fresh canvas. I will sit and look into it and ask for guidance–sometimes for a long time.

I use large tubes of oil because I like the weight in my hand and I like the confidence that it brings–I will not run out of paint. I squeeze the paint directly on to the canvas and move it with only my hands. I feel it, soft, cool, wet, smooth. I layer sometimes over wet paint, sometimes over dry, building it up then carve back with my fingers and nails.

I use only my hands because I like the control it gives and the fact that I don’t need to wash paint down the drain nor use solvents. Instead, with that extra paint I wipe my hands on salvaged wood scraps to make mini canvases. In my spare time, I use them to construct assemblages using other salvaged and found objects. These reclaimed works are a way for me to constantly create.

I work with complimentary colors, texture, depth and light to express motion and emotion, allowing the viewers’ imagination to run–giving them what they seek: a space to imagine. Rather than telling them what to experience, my goal as an artist is to simply allow my audience to see what they see, feel what they feel–inspiring them to see something different every time they experience one of my works. Working abstract is the best way I have found to achieve this."