Artist's Statement

My paintings offer a bold pause from the to-do’s of daily life. They serve to capture the essence of a subject and its context through simplified form, distinct color, and select detail. No more, no less, than what is needed to create a cohesive scene. 

Creating cohesion is central to my painting approach. When I start a new painting, I ask myself, “What’s the one thing you want this painting to do?” That ‘one thing’ can be technical or spiritual, such as capturing the forward lean of a model, or creating an emotional field. I then build for that one thing.

I use a palette knife to plot large blocks of color on the canvas, and build up from there. The composition is intentional, with every form and space placed in relation to the other. The colors are intertwined, with traces of each color present in the other. The details that make it onto the scene serve only to amplify the ‘one thing’.