About my work
My body of work includes printmaking, painting and drawing and explores the tension between human existence and nature. Each artwork is a story that evolves through a stream of emotional consciousness. Joy, angst, desire, and isolation are expressed in line, shape, and color.
Nature and the human form make up most of my inspiration and visual language. Especially the nude, which is humanity at its most raw and vulnerable form. The natural world is the real world where I prefer to exist. I consider the nude no longer at conflict with nature, and seek to harmonize the existence of both.
My artistic influences include the subtle, minimalistic beauty of artists like Ellsworth Kelly to the brilliant absurdity of the DaDaists. I get a visceral response to the work of Cy Twombly, who reminds me to get to the heart of the story. These influences are not for me to emulate. Instead I find in them the inspiration to create something that evokes a sense of beauty from the range of the emotions that we experience.
My stone lithograph “Tangled Up In Dreams” evolved while drawing directly on the stone using a model’s pose for subject matter. As I drew her I felt she was immersed. Her hair became an element in the story. It grew long and reaching, curling around limbs and floating upwards. In the background are faces, limbs, and claws suggesting ideas of beauty, protection, or danger. I wanted this to be ambiguous. I wanted the viewer to project their own desires or fears onto the image. She is tangled, but her expression remains at peace. She is strong. There are many emotions present and I want the viewer to sort them out in a way that is personal and meaningful to them.
I look forward to continuing my work in stone lithography, drawing and painting, and exploring other types of printmaking like etchings. I want the narrative of my work to include more mixed media and experimental forms, including looser and more abstract ways of approaching my subject matter.
My current goal is to build a body of work with a common thread tying each piece together. This will be a work in progress that takes shape organically. I intend to let the process of creating lead me.