Painting has been a life-long manifestation of my personal journey through physical space, nature, time, and art history. I choose to work in oils and gouache as these mediums lend themselves to both expressive and more structural and controlled modes of painting. Paint has the power and plasticity to capture my touch, emotion, and movement as I paint. Whether the paint is applied by squeezing directly from the tube to the canvas, dripped or poured, I’m passionate about painting. I select mostly abstract, sometimes architectural places and elements juxtaposed with natural/organic ones and popular references. I am preoccupied by dynamic forces and elements of nature; such as an octopus being caught up in a maelstrom, the spiral of a storm, giants, and more recently the sun and water. The elements in my work usually have a looming, ominous, and sometimes foreboding aspect to them, which offers tension to the subject.

My work is influenced by Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Minimalism. I tend to incorporate brightly keyed complimentary colors, gestural marks, popular imagery, and simple linear patterns. The works tend to create a unique dream-like effect seen from different perspectives. I like Manet’s flat, broad strokes for example: the fabric in his Olympia where he allowed the paint to simply be white paint itself. His handling of the paint here contrasts the smoothness of the skin of the figure. I am also taken by Cezanne’s painterly and yet highly structured style. Other strong influences in my creative process are Jackson Pollack, Jasper Johns, and Robert Mangold. I love the act of painting, the movement and manipulation of paint around the canvas. I choose colors which tend to be confectionary and bright. The act of painting is a personal exploration of art through time as well as an expression of my own ideas.