I look for objects, materials, and spaces that can provide both a perceptual experience, and a poetic one. Sometimes the inspiration is purely visual – the way a jar of flowers catches the light on a window ledge, or the interaction of blue and orange hues in a checkered cloth. Other times, the inspiration is both conceptual and visual - landscapes referenced by folded maps, or stars in the night sky invoked by punctured black paper taped to a windowpane. Painting is a way for me to connect the visible world with the world of the mind and imagination. The interaction is subtle, working slowly on both artist and viewer, and creates a space for contemplation. Drawing helps clarify my approach, and is often the next part of the process. In the final painting, working directly from life, I often build tension between decorative and plastic space, create asymmetrical balance, and mix color interactions from a flexible set of primaries, producing a particular kind of light, mood, or feeling. Basic geometric forms of the circle, square, rectangle, and triangle make regular appearances, both in objects selected and in the formal arrangements of the space. The natural world, when included, is often in the form of flowers, or through allusions and references to landscape, stars, and natural elements. Major sources of inspiration include art history, literature, place, season, and found objects.

(Photo taken on New Years Day, 2011.)