In these times of global environmental crisis, when we are threatened by climate change and the extinction of many of our species, I honor our flora and fauna. I live at high altitude in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and I am inspired by my daily interactions with wilderness and all of her living things. My paintings focus on our connection to nature through abstract images of landscape, wildlife and positive imagined realms. I cultivate a bridge through my imagery to highlight the restorative qualities of nature and her power to remind us of our humanity.
In observing the environment, I access a plethora of diverse forms. Life is always changing through cycles of birth, growth, decay and renewal, providing continual appearances of new configurations revealing themselves in the natural world.
The evolution of creating my paintings follows a similar pattern to the way nature changes over time. Just as water transforms as it rains, disintegrating through evaporation and reappearing in the form of dew or snow, my paintings, through an additive and reductive process, go through generative and destructive phases, changing forms many times. I use brushes, knives, scrapers and squeegees to develop an assortment of marks. By dynamically layering, scraping, spraying and splashing paint repeatedly, I create richly diverse surfaces composed of varied brush strokes, line work, scratched or incised areas as well as smooth, flat and open areas. The final compositions are unified with a kaleidoscope of contrasting properties.