Art helps me make order of my life, my thoughts and emotions. I want my audience to feel intrigue and maybe a sense of calm or inspiration when viewing my work. I’m showing my unconscious world and hopefully this creates untold stories for the viewer.
While I strive for all the elements in a painting to work together, I allow a quirkiness or imperfection. It’s natural for humans and nature to be imperfect and I like to show that.
My intuition guides me as I move back and forth between loose mark-making and more defined, controlled marks and shapes. I love the dichotomy of this combination. My marks eventually begin forming their own spaces – alternate universes as I sometimes think of them.
The materials I use are acrylic paint, collage and drawing materials, and old art work – anything I find that is of visual interest. My surfaces are multi-layered, allowing the viewer to understand the process of making. By continuing to hide, partially expose, or fully expose each layer, I reveal the unique character of each piece. As the viewer moves through different areas of the piece, they may experience the passage of time also.
Artists who have had major influences on me are Judith Geichman and John Reuter-Pacyna, both instructors from the School of the Art Institute. I learned about materials, accidental and purposeful marks, and composition from them.