My process.
I begin to paint with two brushes at a time, one in each hand. I use one brush to apply the paint and the other to remove it, building layer upon layer, scraping back into the layers of paint to begin building again. Washes of color set the stage while instinctive marks made with brushes, sticks, graphite, charcoal or another utensil convey the narrative. The language in my marks correlates to my early fascination with childhood mark-making instincts and a lifetime of mark-making.
My work.
The marks I make today are rooted in my past. I grew up near the site of the largest known collection of ancient rock carvings in North America and I have had a fascination with petroglyphs since childhood. Today, the site is referred to as “The Teaching Rocks.” According to Joseph Campbell, marks such as those discovered near my home are religious artifacts carved by spiritual leaders, intended to inform and protect us.
My artwork used to be "representational"—recognizable enough for me to be employed as a medical artist at Vanderbilt University and as an exhibits artist for Cumberland Science Museum. My current work I am drawn to the work of Joan Mitchell, Cy Twombly, Paterson Ewen and Gershon Iskowitz, artists whose work holds a spiritual energy that inspires me to continue to make my own marks.
My roots.
I was raised in the farmhouse that my father was born in, on a farm that was in my family for over 100 years. I learned how to drive a tractor when I was twelve. I’ve herded cattle, mucked stables, picked rocks, baled hay, and mended fences. Farm life was full of opportunities to mend sick or abandoned runt piglets, kittens, chipmunks, bunnies, birds, and mice. I was the kid in school who was known as the artist. Friends asked me to illustrate book reports or give them drawings for birthdays. I made shoebox dioramas for Kiddles and crocheted clothes for cats.
Now.
When I am not in the studio, I am connecting businesses with artists and artwork for their spaces in Nashville, Tennessee and beyond.
All work presented is mine. Copyright on all images is mine, whether sold, donated, or otherwise. Thank you for visiting!
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