Artists Statement

When I see light on an object I see it in layers.  I see not only the color of the object, but also the color of the light, direct or reflected and it’s impact on the object.  The light creates a connection in the composition, each object absorbing and reflecting, becoming a mirror of it’s surroundings. I strive to compose a vignette with a sense of a broader environment and a harmony of positive and negative space.

I like to use unfinished boards to create my still life oil paintings.  The natural texture of the wood often lending it’s own organic layer to the composition.  The brushes I use are just simple bristle brushes which I trim.  The brushes, feeling like an extension of my arm, leave their own mark which help to create the pattern I use to paint.  My strokes are vertical and linear, I use these strokes to paint the total composition.  I have really come to enjoy applying the paint in layers, each giving more depth to the image.  The layers build up lines of different colors which help me to express the layers of light which wash across the objects in my still lives.

Every time I begin a new piece I am filled with both confidence and insecurity.  Knowing I have created beautiful images, I believe I can get through each new painting, yet the process is always daunting.  Creating a  painting is like jumping off of a cliff and I must create a soft landing.  I am always in awe of the work when I am finished.

When the paintings are done they often evoke in me a feeling of nostalgia, watching the rain on a window pane, feeling the sunlight on a summer evening.  Synaesthesia, simply, means a union of the senses, one sense inciting another.  This seemed to fit well with my art, as for me, the beauty of the work always awakening feelings of joy, serenity and peace.