Statement

My work is mostly based on organic forms found both in nature and the man-made environment. A common thread through different subjects that interest me is that there is often a point of transition, for example, movement, growth, decay, or a change of seasons.

My work ranges from representational to abstract. I take an investigative approach to my subjects which begins with intensive observation. Through repetition and experimentation, I make discoveries that lead the work in different directions. There is a tension between the need for control, and the will to let go of it and see what happens. The contemplative process of making work becomes a record of time spent with the subject, and with the work itself.

I use mixed water based media on paper. This choice of materials allows me to use aspects of both painting and drawing, to achieve something that is often somewhere between the two. I also enjoy the physical connectedness of hand to paper that materials such as crayons, pencils and ink allow.

I have spent most of my life between the midwestern United States and Australia, where I was born. Whenever I go from one to the other, I have both a longing for the place I’ve just left, and a heightened attention to what I see around me in the place I’m in. I believe the recurrence of water as a theme in my work comes from my years near the Pacific Ocean, Sydney Harbour, and the Great Lakes.