There is a deeply embedded theme in my work – the hope that one’s life journey will lead you home – that place you want to be. To some, it’s a place of peace, a state of healing, or away from the daily grind or turmoil to an idyllic place at the end of the path where the sun is warm and breezes flow without end.
I hear collectors and viewers describe how my imagery evokes feelings of peace in the midst of a storm – that a piece calls them to enter the painting and start strolling down that path or along the quiet stream to a place in the horizon where life is how it should be.
Journaling about my artistic process helped me realize that collectors of my art not only love the beauty of the imagery – but they see in each brushstroke “hope”. A gallery manager told me of a businessman (in a suit) would come and stare at one of my paintings during his lunch hour because it helped him shake the stress from his job.
My early family life – filled with both joy and deep struggles – has greatly affected my art. So yes, each painting is my personal journey to find that place of peace, hope and unending beauty.
Deliberate use of color and it’s placement, learned from years of study under European Masters, helps - has given me the tools to allow this them to emerge in every work of art I create. The most impactful skill gleaned from years of study is that “light comes from darkness” – which. Most European arts (even the old stained glass) teach us to place our brightest areas next to the darkest shadows. I now realize that I used this concept to communicate that there can be peace and joy – whether you are experiencing everyday life or great strife.
Each painting I create comes from a place of emotion – present or past – hopefully touching a chord in in the viewer as it has touched in me. In doing so, a conversation has begun between the between the viewer and the imagery – helping them envision their own life as a journey to that place where they want to be.
Statement
Through art I seek a melding of soul, emotion, color & texture….. helping stir the imagination to recall memories of landscapes or scenes from one’s past or present - some beautiful, others stormy or mystical. I portray just enough image to start the journey - allowing the viewer to experience the emotion and feeling that’s buried deep - ready to be found and remembered.
My journey put me in the paths of many Master Artists who, like the Masters before them, imparted centuries-old methods that yield beautiful works of art. They have imparted to me a gift of age-old knowledge that I must share with future artists – who in turn will impart their skill to future generations - even if the final product is of a much different style, form or medium.