Artist Statement

Using the symbolic representation of oil paint, I create as a way to explore and express feelings, emotions, and ideas. I am a painterly realist. I use brush strokes to enhance texture and form as well as color, temperature, chiaroscuro, pattern, and theme to portray the reality of what I see while leaving room for my imagination to contribute to the painting. Using variations in these techniques I nourish my own creative hunger providing novel avenues of curiosity for further study and expression. My aim is to not merely represent the subject in a realistic manner but to evoke an emotional response in the viewer. I wish to connect with my audience as they react to an image, perhaps seeing something familiar that reminds them of an aspect of themselves.  Since the human figure, particularly the face, evokes feelings, I am drawn to painting the human figure and portrait as a way of connecting with my audience. In a similar fashion, I seek to stimulate these emotional reactions to my still-life paintings and landscapes.

My energy and passion for painting are evident in the use of color and brush strokes in particular – yielding representational form along with abstractions. What can be depicted without a full definition? What is minimally represented and what begs for a further definition?

I love the play of emotions and intellect, the realm of ideas. Using ideas to elevate the meaning of the art provides an infinite odyssey for inquiry and investigation.