I am a painter/mixed media/pastel artist living and working in eastern Wisconsin. My work is driven by an intuitive desire to explore a personal archeology. Shapes and marks unite to display a map of my creative process. The tools and mediums I use to explore this imagery are also intuitively chosen for their unique effect on the composition. The range of mediums I use is vast and includes oil, pastel, acrylic, cold wax, charcoal, graphite, oil pigment sticks, color pencil and iridescent powders on paper, canvas and panel.
There is a juxtaposition of random and decisive choices throughout my painting process so that both the conscious and subconscious have an opportunity to interact on the surface of the picture plane. My work involves as much tearing down as it does the building up of visual elements. I won’t allow any section of the surface to be so precious that I wouldn’t risk removing it or covering it over with paint in order to unify the whole. The risk is worth the reward. There is also a dance between conventional ideas of beauty and ugliness.
The eye does not have much opportunity to rest when viewing my work. I enjoy surprising the viewer as much as I enjoy being surprised myself as each image unfolds. For me, a piece is finished when it leaves plenty yet to be figured out – when it displays a sense of life being lived.