Being present to the beauty of the every day
a gesture
a moment of calm
a weathered wall
a shaft of late afternoon light
a bird in flight

Whether landscape, figurative abstraction, or nonobjective art, I find joy in the exploration of them all.

My current passion is abstracting the figure. I start by creating mixed media backgrounds composed of prepared papers, found objects, text, and parts of recycled artwork. This is an intuitive and meditative process. After choosing an image from either my life drawing sketches, or personal photographs, I draw and paint it into the collage. Integrating figures into these layered, textured grounds has become metaphor: we are our contexts, all of us connected with responsibilities to each other and the worlds we inhabit. It is always a lovely surprise to see how the original background informs the final piece. By moving from the chaos of the collaged backgrounds to calm imagery, contemplative works are created.

I love the dance between intention and spontaneity that allows each painting to come into its own.