Artist Statement

As a returning South Carolina native, I arrived in Charleston from Denver, CO in December 2004. My education includes a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Ceramics from Western Carolina University. As a student, I focused on representational subjects, often painting from life. Later, during a year living on Edisto Island, my painting moved away from realism. These pieces are mostly non-objective abstractions, derived from the landscape. With subtleties in light, color, and atmosphere providing an extensive language for visual play and an element of mood, our region feeds ideas an inspiration to my work everyday.

The works presented are process-oriented with an exploration of media in ink, pastel and oil. I enjoy developing the surface, whether on paper or canvas, in a series of layers. Pieces often start with a leaf or shadow or expansive marsh view and move into a focus on formal qualities. Through my studies, influential painters have been Arthur Dove, Pierre Bonnard and Helen Frankenthaler.
Having an academic background in art, I appreciate the historical context of painting. Paintings were once a major form of entertainment, as the media functions today. I want my work to provide a similar quality. Rather than offering a distraction for instants, a painting gives the viewer a place to optically and cerebrally linger for years.
 
My studio is a sunroom at home in uptown Charleston, providing natural light and convenience. I often study through life drawing in charcoal and carry a notebook to jot down thoughts or visual moments caught throughout the day. There is balance of familiarity and mystery in nature and I enjoy when that edge is translated into art. In these oil paintings and mixed media works, natural world observations merge with a play in rhythm, line, and color theory to develop the picture plane. Through these formal elements, an emotive quality evolves.