ARTIST STATEMENT
There is something almost athletic about it drawing and painting, the way seeing is connected to movement and presence in the act of making marks. Over the years my brush and pencil have become an extension of my body--through these tools I can translate the magic of the world as I experience it. The subject of any given piece is really secondary. I like to paint the everyday things I see going about my day--cleaning, taking out the trash or daydreaming.
I also love drawing and painting people-faces and bodies. Faces are in constant motion--so storied and revealing. I painted my daughter from when she was a baby. Getting to look at her face so closely through the years has been one of the great joys of my life. Painting her allowed me to celebrate that. It's an experience we all share about our loved ones--that their faces change so much over time. When I lost my mom tragically, I painted her portrait to make her face appear when I missed her. Paintings for me feel so much more alive than photos or memories.
Taking beauty seriously has been a defining part of my art. When I take in something beautiful its like a bell rings inside me, telling me to pay attention. As a woman there is constant messaging that your worth comes from your beauty, so the focus is on how other's experience you. It is a kind of disassociation. I find if I focus on the the beauty around me instead, it works in me like a spiritual and moral anchor, grounding and connecting.
Most recently I am painting flowers and plants. This switch in subject matter from my daughter to something less personal has been freeing. These paintings are quicker and smaller than previous work. Flowers offer the ultimate invitation to play with the elements of paint--color, value, shape, texture, line. I love getting lost when I paint and having to find my way out of a corner. The mess becomes an opportunity to put aside habits and listen differently.
Examples of my both my recent paintings and quick portraits can be viewed on my Instagram