Artist's Statement
 Welcome to my visual world. Painting is a visual language. If I could fully explain a painting in words there would be no need for the painting. I paint what I can't say in words. My paintings are a visual record of my personal meanderings through life. Like post cards they offer a glimpse of choices I made along my route; of what I considered visually important during a certain period; things that stirred my heart.
I think of my paintings as celebrations of the magic and enchantment of art and nature. A photograph records one particular moment in time. By taking information from a number of photographic sources I can record an expanse of time. I can also create my own reality from totally unrelated sources; a quieter, gentler, more colorful reality. For the most part I rely on photos that I have taken myself. When in my studio I use these images to conjure the sensations I experienced while taking the photographs. I recall the splash of waves, the warmth of the summer sun, the scent of lilac in bloom, damp grass and wet rocks. These sensations and images are then filtered through nostalgia, the background music of Delta Blues, and the process of translation and interpretation begins. Ultimately, artists are always painting themselves. No matter how they disguise it, their work is a reflection of their personality and soul. Partly to indulge myself, and partly to gain a greater understanding of myself, I paint the images that give me pleasure. Images such as a meandering path through the woods which beckons one to explore further the mysteries which lie beyond; a blaze of saturated, contrasting color in a patch of wild flowers happened upon unexpectedly; the brilliance of noon-day sun bursting through the green canopy of foliage spot-lighting a tree frog sunning on a leaf. In my artist's view of the world, I find myself composing paintings, in my mind’s eye, while looking out the window of a bus or the window of my studio. While walking down a woodland path or city street, I search for interesting compositions that offer contrasts of color, shape, size and texture; compositions depicting themes of regeneration, degradation or the hand of man on the environment. Nature is a miracle of constant self-renewal, an ever-changing vista of seasons, growth, decay and rebirth. I look around my world to see what things I can depict that would express my feelings about the earth’s beauty and magic. But, the world is also full of strife and discontent. My wish is not to hide from this reality but to offer the calm and peace of a quiet moment caught in time, for it is often in these quiet moments that solutions present themselves, and from nature we can learn the greatest lessons. If the viewing of my paintings generates some of the same feelings of inner peace, contentment and harmony as I experienced in their creation I will consider my efforts rewarded. |