Artist Statement

You could not step twice into the same river, for other waters are ever flowing onto you. 

Quoted by Plato in Cratylus

My paintings celebrate the interplay of past and present, imagined and tangible, that which is lost and what remains. I have always been drawn to the physicality and evidence of transformation as a unique presence in the passage of time. The patinas that evolve where architectural structures and atmospheric effects coalesce are especially interesting to me. Surfaces with a built-up history of shifting colors and mark-making, whether random or intentional, carry the visual and poetic resonance I seek in my paintings.  

One of the most enduring influences in my work originates from teaching for twelve consecutive summers at the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy. While living in there. I encountered an abundant and endless palimpsest of fascinating imagery. The overlap of aging world-class works of art with present-day street culture was intriguing. This experience, intertwined with memory and invention, continues to be at the center of my aesthetic while working in the studio. While the fragments of ancient walls and fading frescoes in Italy are a long-time favorite, images from my everyday urban life are often just as influential.

The tactile nature of paint and other materials offers unpredictable qualities that are integral to the creation of my open-ended abstract works. I find pleasure in the experimental nature of mixed media combinations and thrive on unfamiliarity when making an image. Most of my paintings are made on a braced panel with oil paint, beeswax, powdered marble, dry pigment, and varying drawing materials. My process may include adding and subtracting, excavating, collage, and improvisational calligraphic mark-making. This approach to painting seeks connections between recognition and suggestion, specificity and chance.  Ultimately, I am interested in creating works that evoke materiality and meaning from a free-spirited studio practice with no preconceived notions of what may happen.