Artist Statement
I am the product of a long line of farmers and the first generation of their city-born descendants. That history shapes how I understand work: as a means of survival, a way of manipulating my environment, and a practice through which meaning is made.
frontiers:
The frontiers paintings begin with small paper collages in which color, shape and spatial relationships are expolred. These compositions are then translated onto canvas in acrylic. The process moves from experimentation to the strict discipline of executing the hard edged forms.
abstracts:
These paintings are direct explorations of process, experimentation and technique on the finished surface. The work is built by trial and error. I embrace the changes, pentimento, erasure and often repaint entire canvases, allowing the previous images to bleed through.
works on paper:
I am fascinated with paper and the printed image. The making of collage is a free-form experimentation allowing for the concept of time and repurposing to come to the fore. Some collages serve as maquettes for the frontiers paintings - others are stand-alone pieces themselves.