Artist Statement
My paintings and works on paper, for the last twenty plus years have mainly dealt with place and physical and mental spaces as a major theme for creating works. I relate this theme with my childhood, growing up on a wheat farm. The open spaces allowed me to look outward towards the landscape while internally my mind was mentally busy constructing ideas in understanding reality in forming early impressions of my identity. My paintings have explored compositions to show the contrasts between place and physical or mental spaces through the use of abstracted shapes or design motifs juxtaposed with representational images, activating the background through their interaction, thus becoming more symbolic in their meaning. The external and internal references are controlled in different ways; alternating their placement within the composition through the perspective of the of image or by eliminating any external references to place.
 

Most recently, my work has been influenced through a practice of meditating and then

painting. This practice brings more of a physical awareness to my body and mind that

subconsciously is revealed through the abstractions in watercolor. The meditation paintings

have guided me back to the pool with a shift in my perception of the ego and continued

interest in meditation and mindfulness through the shifts of movement in the imagery. As I look outward towards the water, my focus is on the inner connections the physical space provides through color, sound and sensations felt through the body.

Both the mediation paintings and the waterscapes are a practice in giving up control, allowing the mind to be free of any kind of attachment to the imagery and allowing the subconscious and conscious to inform each other in the act of creating.

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