Artist Statement
2020
“If you’re not amazed, you’re not paying attention.”
-Rick Hanson Ph. D.
I’m in a constant state of amazement at the world around me: Nature’s beauty, saturated color, wind, water, and movement in general, all inspire me to create.
I choose to paint abstract because I love the way it suggests, implies something, without stating it definitively. Trying to suggest, without “over-telling”, both challenges and engages me as an artist. I also love the possibility, openness and freedom it allows both me, and my viewers to interpret my paintings.
In the studio, I work intuitively, focusing on the joyful, passionate and celebratory aspects of color. Using my breath and large motions, I focus on letting go, being present, and infusing the work with spontaneity. As I experiment, I allow the paint, gravity and chance to do most of the work. This combination of body, breath, movement, and music, helps me reach a state of total immersion in the creative process. It’s a gift to take a break from the constant chatter of my “monkey mind”, (as some mediation teachers refer to our busy minds). I’m “blessed” by a combination of a highly active, creative mind, endless creativity, and unending restlessness. When I don’t create, I implode, or explode. Creating, is my mediation, and my constant healing.
Art and dance have given me the gift of being able to be present with myself, in the moment. I know I am not alone in finding art as my salvation. I share my work in order to inspire viewers to feel more alive, engaged and awe struck by the beauty of life as they view my work…so that we can celebrate the joyfulness and color of life together.