Artist's Statement
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Art is my sanity. It gives me the happiness, energy, and clarity I’ve come to rely on when things start to get a little crazy. I want my work to instantly if only temporarily, transport its viewer to a paradoxical world of wilderness and safety, movement and stability, reality and imagination. I want my work to breathe life off the canvas and into the viewer.
Music:
Music not only stirs my soul but also my body. I literally must move to the consuming rhythms. I am swept within the rhythmic beats and reflective lyrics of a euphoric world. I view life as a dance to the music that's playing. I usually am listening to music when I paint. Music moves my hand, stirs my mind and warms my paints to flow naturally.
Nature:
My nature pieces serve as reminders that the most beautiful artwork often lies in the simplest of things. In a world where so many of us are shut off from the true wilderness, I find these paintings to be a breath of fresh air. To capture the already perfected beauty of nature seems to be redundant, if not impossible. However, to capture the experience is another task entirely. These paintings are meant to be as much a reflection of what I see as how I feel. I want the viewer to absorb the sunlight, hear the busy wings and experience color in a way that lifts the spirit and calms the soul. I want to prove that the little things can be the big things.
Peacocks and Koi:
For me, the peacock and koi fish are the epitome of natural beauty at its best. I love the majestic qualities of their soft beautiful feathers and metallic scales and view these creatures as living, breathing palettes, put on constant display to enhance or lives on this earth we live on for now. They seem to provide a glimpse of much more that we can not comprehend at this time. The glimpses give me peace of mind and heart often.
Roosters and Hens:
Roosters & Chickens have supplied me with endless inspiration. I can’t help but see pieces of humanity wrapped up in their vibrant feathers and quirky mannerisms. Chickens are lively creatures – sometimes clucky, sometimes flustered and almost always on the go. They have provided me with a humorous outlet to explore human emotion and behavior in a way I find fun and rejuvenating. The streams of color I use reflect my free flow of thoughts and emotions. It is my hope that people can relate to these paintings in a light-hearted way that exemplifies mannerisms we all have at times. I understand that the demands of everyday life can drain a person, and I hope these paintings are a catalyst to help others as they do me to recharge and gain perspective. Most importantly, I hope they simply make you smile. We can never have too many things that make us smile. When I hear people say "What are you Chicken?" I often want to reply "Kind Of".
Fruit:
My fruit paintings are all about simple pleasures. I like peeling back the skin of a perfectly ripened banana and summer days measured by strawberries and watermelons. I like the first crunch when you bite into an apple and fighting over the last piece of pineapple. Fruit is a happy food. It’s light, fun and refreshing – something we could all use a little more of.
It took me a long time to discover and accept myself as an artist, but the journey has been one I don’t regret. I am grateful to have found something I love so much and that allows me to describe all the things I can’t put into words. Painting, for me, is a cycle of giving and receiving. It has given me happiness, energy, and clarity. I hope that by sharing you can receive some of the graces it gives me.
Dragonflies
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