artist statement

After a tumultuous period of loss, both personal (the death of my father followed closely by the death of my mother) and physical loss of my studio and the gallery I had shown with for nearly 14 years, I found myself creating from a place of growing darkness. Historically, I’d been an extremely productive artist and although I continued to paint during this period, I began to see a sense of sadness reflected in my work that I hadn’t previously known. A part of me had died and my work clearly demonstrated that loss.

As time worked its magic and I began to feel the weight of atmospheric darkness begin to fade, I created what became the first piece in a new body of work. “Clearing the Clouds,” a mixed-media oil on canvas, represented a fresh start and a new attitude towards daily life. I was not dead and life had not yet taken me down. It was time, after more than a year, to take advantage of the scars on my heart and create from this new vantage point where the loss is real, but recognizing that in death there is life. 

“Resurrection” is a collection of mixed media oil paintings that remind the viewer to consider that the myriad of experiences, interactions and emotions that we survive each day are not only fleeting, but vital to our evolution. By using materials such as personal antique letters, gold leaf, ink and traditional oil paint this series shares the commonality of life and the challenge of living, while demonstrating the value of difficulty, pain and loss. We become ourselves as a direct result of these moments. They shape who we are, who we’ve been and who we desire to become. These alterations, vast as they are, help us to appreciate the beauty of living and how the smallest joy can have the biggest impact.