I am moved by the sensual sweep of a line and delight in the paint and poetry of messy and storms. Born in 1953 in Newark, New Jersey, I spent my growing-up years between Newark and Brooklyn, New York. In my early twenties, I began work as a landscape designer and grower of trees on a small farm in northern New Jersey. In the winter months (dormant season), I would spend time in the Caribbean sunning, camping and sailing. It wasn’t until I reached my fifties that my dormant visual artistry surfaced and branched from these roots set in the dualities of street and garden, shore and sea.
I am a farmer/gardener of plants, words, images and beauty. My muses reside in nature and cities, human character, humor and pathos. In any given creative moment, I am simply trying to unearth, or bring into light, something that I did not know I needed to express. My process of paint and collage work are the result of impulsive and managed brushstrokes and the use of multiple mediums with an emphasis on color choice, line-work, mark-making and the fun integration of fortuitous mishaps. I am a firm believer in coherent messiness and grace-in-chaos.
Statement
“Paint from your vagina” she directed us. Andrea was in a life-drawing session with other visual artists and a nude female model. This was the only advice the seasoned (often brilliant) and proficient fellow artist and art instructor would bellow.
“What? Paint from where? What is she talking about? Instead of the usual paint from your heart — it was now time to paint from your sensuality and passion for a truer outcome.
Artistry, be it visual, musical or movement is hard work. It requires patience, persistence and practice. And a good deal of solitude. Hopefully, the artist can let go just enough to tap into their body and intuitive wisdom for real creation. And sometimes, it helps to shake things up by using words we don’t expect. In this case “vagina” has its own heart.
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