Artist's Statement

The inspiration behind my current series of paintings, "A Change in Seasons" is the transitional landscape. Because my paintings are often an exploration of place, I continually search for novel perspectives to express scenery close-to-home and recollections of summers spent overlooking Long Island Sound in Madison, Connecticut, or vacationing in Bridgton, Maine. Atmosphere and color are the defining elements in my art. I feel the primary purpose of art is to provide ways of looking at the world that stimulate and recharge the human imagination and at the same time provide a much-needed respite from the chaos of contemporary life.

Although representational, my landscapes are not always identifiable as an exact place or specific point in time, but rather are a blend of actual or imagined scenes and memories. The process of painting is emphasized by layering, scraping, dragging, and dripping paint. The physicality of paint, gestural brushstroke, and the unfinished quality of my work invite viewers to become part of my creative process, thus completing the paintings with their own personal visions. To heighten the emotional impact of my paintings, I contrast light with dark tones, warm with cool colors, and thick impasto with thin paint applications.

Loosely constructed and often lacking in detail, my paintings are more emotive than narrative. Painted in vibrant hues, my vistas lack figures and are spiritual in nature. This mystical quality evokes feelings of space and time through its muted hues and atmospheric color tones.

I utilize photography and drawings to define the elements of my oil paintings and study past works of artists that speak to my soul. Back in the studio, I work and rework each painting while allowing the paint to direct the conversation and my imagination.

The most enjoyment I derive from painting is the actual process of laying down the color and reacting to that color. Much like a ballet – rhythmic and continual-each stroke informs the next. Such a moment reminds me of hot summer mornings as a little girl rushing down to the shore to be the first mark-maker to draw on the large expanse of white scrubbed beach sand. After the initial thrill of starting a canvas, the most challenging aspect of painting is simplifying the elements to eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary may speak unfettered.

In the end, mine is a solitary journey and an escape from the mundane. Painting allows me to be myself and no one else. The canvas is my territory and my challenge is to make it better and brighter.

"I am what is around me."