MEET THE ARTIST

I am inspired by the simple beauty I see in the world around me. Light and shadow render form, textures, and patterns. Color adds drama.
I continue the practice of painting plein air, utilizing small panels cut into squares, rectangles, or elongated rectangles. The size enables me to quickly compose pictures of simple shapes, juxtaposed passages of value and color, a pictorial language made of dabs of paint.
The image becomes an abstraction. No longer a stand of trees, fields and sky, just colors placed side by side that contrast or harmonize. The edges of the shapes can be hard and delineated, or blended and softened to create subtle gradations and optical grays. Each creates a different effect, a different illusion of depth and atmosphere, a way to convey feelings and ideas for which I have no words.
My plein air practice informs my studio painting. In the comfort of the studio, I surround myself with the studies and sketches brought back from the field. I may choose to refine portions of the studies or create new compositions and color palettes. Occasionally, a mash-up from several studies may result in a new work entirely.
As the paintings accumulate, themes begin to emerge that inspire further explorations or evoke emotions and ideas not always immediately obvious. I have always enjoyed making larger, gestural works. Large-scaled work has more of a presence, commands more of your attention, and engages viewers, drawing them into the narrative and deepening their experience.