Some years ago I found myself painting alongside my two-year-old niece while awaiting the birth of her little sister. Raging electrical storms, coupled with the anticipation of the new child, set a tense mood. As my collaborator lay down blacks, I applied strokes of water, pooling the pigment into layers. At that moment I realized I needed to work these methods into oils. Not only techniques moved me but the mysterious and formidable forces of nature at play. After this experience my work shifted into a decidedly abstract field.
Abstraction seems appropriate, since the themes of my inspiration are elusive. I am fascinated by the elements of nature and shifts of time and space. I often realize that I am painting space: earth, water and what lies within. I explore how, as physical beings, we move though life. While I work, I step into an inner consciousness, often remembering my dreams. There, I reach for a place of greater connection.
Today, I continue to pool and splash the pigments. Time and again, I pull away a layer to reveal what lies beneath. I love the mystifying quality of working with oils. They bring elements beyond my powers to the process. Whether I am working in oils or more containable materials, I try to listen to what the work tells me to do.
At a certain point in the development of a piece, it begins to grow on it’s own. Keeping in contact with this feeling is key. However, if lost, it can sometimes be found later in some other manifestation. When resolved, the piece becomes whole within itself, while simultaneously holding a space in the larger world.
