Artist's Statement
My life is centered on art. I am driven by a passionate yearning to connect with the soul of a subject. The motive for my work remains the same whether the subject is of the natural world, the cultural world or a mythical world: to share the joy I experience bringing these beings to life.
I have worked and studied (continue to study) in many art forms but oil painting is still my first love. When working with oil, I use intense colors in multiple transparent layers. The majority of my paintings I first see in my nocturnal dreams. Several of these dreams motivated me to comment on culture through the subject of shoes. One series of the shoe paintings, The Red Shoe Series, expresses playful delight, mischievously depicting a couple’s shoes with empty wine glasses. Other series speak to the power of the human experience, such as The Color Purple series. I have enjoyed blending nature and culture with the Nature Shoe series. All of my work is some expression of my authentic self whether it is emotion, visions or connection with the Sacred. I often meditate before starting my work so as to open to the flow of Spirit and creative consciousness.
The realistic images of nature that I paint are often chosen because they are endangered. I want to share the beauty and magic of creatures that are disappearing all over the world. My hope is to raise awareness of the plight of these creatures and to inspire others to think about what is happening to our planet.
When creating a new painting: I take the inspired image and create a composition in my sketch book. I prefer to work with photos I have taken of flowers or plants (or water or koi) and also real frog patterns on the bodies of the dancers. Next, I sketch a minimal composition on the canvas and wash in basic blocks of color using turpentine and oils. I mix my colors on the palette before I start. I love working with brilliant color (Schminke and Old Holland have beautiful pure yellows, reds and greens). I also bring in toned colors to create an earthy warm feeling in the work. Using smaller brushes I lay in the midtones, starting from the background working toward the foreground. With a second dry brush I blend the strokes. I work with Liquin to create multiple transparent layers - usually a minimum of five layers, and as many as 8 to 15 layers. The first shadow layers are added during the 3rd or 4th layers. The last touches are highlights and stronger brush strokes which add to the rhythm of the work.”
