Inspiration

Painting allows me to pay attention to life, offering opportunities to express my experience of Earth as a heavenly abode, rife with potential.  The process of recording reference material and translating my vision to canvas, panel, or other supports demands careful observation.  Some images seem to paint themselves while others require extended courtship.  A certain quality of light, and a subsequent sense of expansion or elevation, acts as my compass.  I know I’m witnessing at least one of my next pieces when I feel a shimmering radiating from my heart while gazing at a landscape, city scene or intriguing object.  Occasionally, I find a subject that I wish to investigate in depth, so I might plan various perspectives of it to thoroughly explore the colors and textures.  I discover new subjects by remaining alert to light/dark contrasts, atmospheric states or even a combination of interesting shapes. 

Expression

My propensity for painting smoothly leaves few visible brushstrokes.  This creates a sense of silence and sanctuary, giving viewers space to safely regain their inner silence.  Juxtaposing slightly lighter, darker or altogether different hues allows me to suggest movement where necessary. 

Influences

Lately, contemporary artists such as Aldwyth, Kehinde Wiley, and María Magdalena Campos-Pons, as well as the overall vision of both the Brooklyn Museum and the Greenville County Museum of Art (Greenville, South Carolina), have been expanding my explorations and prompting me to develop fusions of abstract, exacting representation, and narrative depictions as a new direction for my imagery.  I derive ongoing inspiration from artists Maxfield Parrish, Henri Matisse, John Singer Sargent, James Abbott McNeil Whistler, Paul Gauguin, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Frida Kahlo, whose methods and sensibilities differed greatly.  Their work urges me to honor my inner response and employ techniques that best express my sense-vision.