“Working with abstraction allows me to intuitively play with imagery, texture and mark-making. ”
Meaning in my work cannot be expressed by one medium alone. Acrylic paint, vintage books, magazines, found photos, cut scraps of clothing, tissue paper, and my own photography are some of the items I include in my paintings. I begin with found paper and photographs that interest me on a personal level. I create layers with these disjointed images and paint over and around them. I make marks with drawing tools, sand, scrape, and rub into the substrate to reveal images transferred to the surface. Revealed information is then responded to. I hide things and show things. This archeological approach allows me to fuse old and new together while I discover exciting things happening on the surface.
My photography is often the jumping off point for my paintings. While riding in a car, I have always taken photos of what I see out the window. The houses, power lines, trees and signs of lives lived inspire me. I like the blurriness and chopped vignettes that I get from quickly snapping photos through the car window. I use these images in my mixed media paintings and as a way to continually look and learn.
Working with abstraction allows me to intuitively play with imagery, texture and mark-making. Whimsical characters, text and suggestive forms often appear in the chaos of paint and line. A sense of place and time develops. A loud and quiet conversation take place, until a stillness is found. This evolution is central to balancing my art and how I know when the piece is completed.