About My Work
Painting is a way to depict my own parallel universe.
I create a visual culture of personified animals in woodland settings, a contemplation of the mystical aspect of nature. Hiking a trail, I may happen upon a deer, owl, beetle, or strange flower. I ask myself why that particular animal or plant appeared to me at that time. What does an owl represent in my subconscious and what symbolic weight does it carry?
My cityscape paintings are based on memories of architecture. I have an affinity for historic districts and craftsmanship. The geometric shape of the window describes the personality of the building, and perhaps the resident.
I have two loves in painting- oil and encaustic. I work equally in both mediums, sometimes combining them in the same painting.
Oil paints allow for the spontaneous nature of my process. I enjoy the extended amount of working time they allow, making it easy to blend colors. I tend to start an oil painting with an aura of color, then gradually define the scene I am painting. I apply the paint thinly for a transluscent effect, or very thickly and boldly.
Encaustic paints have allowed me to build translucent layers of imagery, as well as add mixed media elements to my work. Encaustic is a process where I melt pigmented beeswax to a molten liquid state and then paint with it on panel. I incorporate drawings that “float” over the surface of an oil painting. I obscure a portion of the painting with layers of colored wax, only to scrape back and reveal the image in a later incarnation. This has helped me be more fluid in my ideas. I end up with a layered, translucent surface that emphasizes dimensionality. This technique lends itself to work concerning the imagined realm.
