The Abstracts are inspired by places, nature, music, and memories. Most recently I usually work with oil and cold wax. I love the flexibility and depth that comes with many layers of oil paint mixed with cold wax and other media such as pastels, crayons, collaged paper, and pigment sticks. Older layers and colors may be occasionally revealed directly through scraping and scratching, may show themselves through passing of light through transparent colors, or may be hidden completely yet still a part of the complexity of a painting.
The Mosaics, Doubles, and Collages represent “moments”: some come together to form an image; others remain separate yet contribute to an overall experience. “Cork Tree” and “Rosie the Riveter” are comprised of many individual watercolor and gouache paintings assembled to create an image. In these works, each individual painting is an abstract painting in its own right. For other mosaics, I take a different approach with each element depending on and arising from the previous ones. “February Moments” is 28 different blocks painted during the month of February, with the color of the first day on all the remaining 27 days, the color added on the second day also added to the remaining 26 days, until the last day with 28 different colors. “Seven Days in Tuscany” was created using a similar process during an artist residency in Tuscany. The “Islands” works are doubles, two approaches to the same subject. The first is a collage of watercolors and paper; the second is a palette knife oil painting that mimics the collage.
The Watercolors were mostly painted plein air, some in the studio. This medium was my first love. I return to it often for its immediacy, portability, and convenience.
The Drawings and Small Works were created in a variety of settings. Some are quick minimalist works that evoke a city, a town, a location. Others are more detailed drawings captured in real time: the view of the rose garden, the islands visible from the boat. Others represent a chance to explore and experiment.