Artist Statement

"Breaking the silence

Of an ancient pond,

A frog jumped into water-

A deep resonance"

Matsou Bashō

My paintings are about physical sensations and made from the rich earthy ingredients of oil paint. Each painting contains forms that appear to be caught in motion, reverberating off one another. As I layer the paint, excavate and embed both printed and invented forms, they reflect my own notion of painting as a poetic and emotive space, resonating and psychologically healing. I am interested in slowing down the perception of the viewer, making them more conscious of both the physical and psychological sensation of their own perceptions and humanity.

I am fascinated by the movements of plants that I observe in my garden going through their life cycles. I collect samples of these plants and use them as sources in my paintings. I often use cast shadows of dried plant forms or apply paint directly to their living surfaces, imprinting them into my paintings. The movements I have observed in these plants forms such as radiating, spiraling, exploding, falling, opening and closing are all reflected upon as natural and symbolic states in my work.

Through the traditional methods of oil painting building layer upon layer of color, texture and transparency, I “grow” these transformational forms suggesting individual moments in the natural life cycle of living forms as well as reflecting upon the impermanent nature of the world that we all live in. My first impression of what painting could be, came to me many years ago while reading a Haiku written by Basho. That poetic impulse has remained with me and has continued to sustain my painting practice.