Artist Statement
The work is as much about what is left unpainted, and about what is taken away, as what is put into place. This process of painting - layering multiple colors, sanding to remove bits of each layer, allowing the permanence of the first mark to dictate the direction of the piece, making room for unexpected results, knowing when to stop, leaving space for the imagination - feels much like life.
I explore image, color, texture, form, light, & line, with watercolor, acrylic, charcoal, and graphite, working on paper, as well as canvas, Claybord™ and wood. The human figure, for both its beauty as well as its ability to convey emotion, has been a primary inspiration for my work. More recently, as I raise my daughters to look out the window, the light & line of the western land and the dramatic colored skies that cross our paths each day inspire me as well.
Formal education includes a BA in Art from Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana and life experiences that have brought me to settle outside Durango, Colorado with my husband, two daughters and an energetic yellow lab responsible for many long walks on the dirt road. For years a self-proclaimed city-girl, I have come to embrace the wind-swept skies and the silent roar of the grasses as the backdrop for my home. It is my love of travel, to places near and far, this country and beyond, that strikes the balance between the two. The lovely Smiley Building in Durango is home to my studio, where I process it all.
