Artists Statement
My desire through my painting is to take the viewer to a special place that connects with the piece. It is my hope to create emotion by interpreting relationships between land, water, trees and our vast sky. Often my work has been said to be ethereal, calming or passionate. I am continually captivated by the natural beauty that surrounds and how the natural light reflects spilling luminous color and reflection in a variety of ways.
Veils of color and thoughts of composition are woven together from an image, sound or emotion I have experienced before I begin a painting. Every painting begins from numerous watercolor studies. These studies serve as a foundation for all my paintings. I take many photos when I travel and explore while hiking or enjoying the ocean. These images serve as my unconscious sketchbook. The incredibly free medium of watercolor paint allows me the ability to get my ideas down on paper quickly and spontaneously. I can develop the flow of the image on paper in a raw and natural manner. When an idea of what I want to convey on the canvas coalesces, I begin the larger painting by building layers of thin acrylic washes followed by layers of richly colored oil paint and glazes to build the depth of the composition and color. The thin spontaneous under painting often dictates how the painting will evolve. It is an absorptive process that often feels as if I have created a situation on the canvas and now it is my journey to create a solution. It is always a pleasant surprise when the painting takes me in an unanticipated direction and I become lost in the colors, the stroke of the brush against the canvas and the sheer joy of painting.
I know that a painting is successful when I walk away from it for a while and when I return it feels as if it has created itself.
My desire through my painting is to take the viewer to a special place that connects with the piece. It is my hope to create emotion by interpreting relationships between land, water, trees and our vast sky. Often my work has been said to be ethereal, calming or passionate. I am continually captivated by the natural beauty that surrounds and how the natural light reflects spilling luminous color and reflection in a variety of ways.
Veils of color and thoughts of composition are woven together from an image, sound or emotion I have experienced before I begin a painting. Every painting begins from numerous watercolor studies. These studies serve as a foundation for all my paintings. I take many photos when I travel and explore while hiking or enjoying the ocean. These images serve as my unconscious sketchbook. The incredibly free medium of watercolor paint allows me the ability to get my ideas down on paper quickly and spontaneously. I can develop the flow of the image on paper in a raw and natural manner. When an idea of what I want to convey on the canvas coalesces, I begin the larger painting by building layers of thin acrylic washes followed by layers of richly colored oil paint and glazes to build the depth of the composition and color. The thin spontaneous under painting often dictates how the painting will evolve. It is an absorptive process that often feels as if I have created a situation on the canvas and now it is my journey to create a solution. It is always a pleasant surprise when the painting takes me in an unanticipated direction and I become lost in the colors, the stroke of the brush against the canvas and the sheer joy of painting.
I know that a painting is successful when I walk away from it for a while and when I return it feels as if it has created itself.