Artist Statement

Many of us find our grace among the natural world. Artists from all times have worked to describe their connection to it. My sanctuary is in the woods. It is there that I connect with my best self, have my clearest thoughts and feel the possibilities.

I consider myself a contemporary impressionist painter. Many of my composition’s honor the formal quality of trees and equally the negative space between them. The ordinary becomes extraordinary by capturing the rhythmic fabric of color and chaos in the woods. My hope is to connect the viewer to these spaces as a metaphor for the human experience, our fragility, our beauty and our challenges.

With climate change so blatantly affecting our world, I have recently become even more of a proponent of the importance of trees and sharing their magnificence with the viewer. I want my paintings to celebrate this necessary companionship as I invite the viewer into these private spaces.

I often sketch and do value studies on site then return to the studio to play with oil paint and pastels. I love the fast lines of drawing on top of the blended oil paint strokes.