Artist's Statement
For thirty years, I have been seriously painting full-time. It is still difficult to explain to anyone why. I don’t do it for money. I don’t do it for fame either. I just paint. I love the process of painting. I love to capture the beauty of things I see for those who may not have noticed or for those who notice and want a tangible memory of their own.
As a result, realism is the painting style that has persisted as I have experimented with different ways of painting, though the close focus view gives much of my work an abstract quality. To develop my skills, I earned a degree in Interior Design from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro certainly has influenced the attention I give to details of composition in my paintings.
Two main bodies of work run concurrently, floral and water. It is broken now and then by other subjects of interest. The longest-running theme involves floral subjects, focusing less on the flower itself and more on its integration with its surroundings. The use of backlight emphasizing the translucency of petals is intended to evoke a sensual image, as does the random play of textures and color both in the garden and in the sunroom where most of my ideas originate. Watercolor is the medium I usually use for floral images because it can achieve a wide range of illusions from fragility to strength. Shadows patterns falling across the shapes of flowers and leaves make their own interesting patterns to exploit for dramatic effect. I am exploring ways to develop a sense of intimacy by using close focus views of flowers in a large, vertical format which become very intimate especially when used in small spaces.
The water paintings are similar to the floral images in their capture of fleeting moments. They primarily catch moving patterns of water as wind and current alter the images they reflect. I’m drawn to the grace and playfulness and randomness of it all. A creek and lake at home have given me many images to work with but a special source of ideas are from the coastal waters I seek when traveling in the US or abroad. Most of my coastal paintings could come from anywhere but some places insert their unmistakable presence on the image. Venice for sure, but other parts of Italy, the Greek Islands, Portugal and Spain and even some areas of New England are quite recognizable with the display of color and the quality of light.
Recently, I have been working with oil on canvas and board for the water paintings around a theme of It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere using material gathered here and from my travels. These highlight the warm light of late afternoon on the water.