My paintings are simply a dialog with myself in an effort to understand things. Those things can be as basic as the relationships of color or form, or as complex as those of human affairs. Sometimes I think I am just inches too short to see over a wall, on the other side of which everything is revealed. Painting is my ladder.

I work concurrently on several series. Each series is visually distinct and different. The stylistic approach I take to execute them is dictated by the subject matter. The themes and concepts that propel the work do however, have connection and continuity. A variety of subjects have driven my work in recent years but all are generated by my preoccupation with themes of transition, authority and control. I do a lot of experimenting with materials and techniques but it is the thematic exploration that propels that effort. The challenge becomes how to explore deeply puzzling social and political issues, codifying them into a visual vocabulary to make them make sense to me, and ultimately to the viewer.

FIBER ARTS SERIES

As a clothing designer for much of my commercial career, I have loved the tactile and vastly diverse world of textiles. It was time to embrace them in my art and bring the lessons of clothing construction to those of art making. Over the last two years I have used those lessons to expand my art practice. Much of my focus is about empowerment, particularly for women. Adopting a medium traditionally associated with women is a powerful way to explore those topics.

COLOR AND CLAY- A Duet SERIES

This group of paintings was originally slated as a collaborative installation with ceramist Joan Libby Hawk at the Art Uptown Gallery for the month of May 2020. As the need for social distancing intervened, we created a virtual marriage of our work that became an ongoing series that we posted incrementally in cyberspace throughout the month.
Born of a shared longing for freshness and simplicity, my color studies and Joan’s glazes are meant to distill the way the spectacular, mystical light of the Florida landscape uniquely impacts color and form.


GARDEN SHADOWS SERIES

For many years now I have made art that is angry. One might miss that, looking at the work, since it is brightly colored and subversively comical. Each new work has been a small battle in my grand war challenging societal wrongs. Maybe it is the hateful political climate or bearing witness to the horrific state of the world that is prompting my need for serenity and genuine sweetness, bringing me to this body of work. These are prayers for cushioning. I am layering human forms in atmospheric gardens, yearning for integration with a natural world that is now under siege, wishing for a lush calm to settle over it all.

FABLES FOR OUR TIMES SERIES

With these works I am inverting relationships and testing notions of power and memory. I often use the intimacy of children and families metaphorically to grapple with larger social issues. With a palette that is bright and pleasing, I hope to open a doorway into worlds that maybe disquieting. By cutting out the shapes and constructing my panels, I am challenging the traditional pictorial format, extending elements beyond it, in a way that is meant to mirror the disruption of expected norms. The compositions are an amalgam of dreams, stories, and memories that sometimes suggest morality tales. The narrative is often deliberately left open, posing questions rather than offering answers. My aim is to take on formidable and sobering subjects using humor, without diminishing their potency. In addition to sparing the viewer undiluted doses of reality, it makes for happier days in my studio.

VEIL
These works consider the plight of women living under oppressive fundamentalist regimes. The broader objective is to reflect on human rights for all people. I am exploring issues of enlightenment, tolerance and freewill, using the dual face of the veil as a visual metaphor for multiple perspectives. Veils are barriers; there is obstruction no matter which side the viewer is on. Incorporated is text drawn from numerous movements for human rights, as well as my own writing.


SUCCESSION SERIES

As I’ve become increasingly aware of aging, I began to think about how individuals adapt to change in order to remain relevant throughout their lives. The broader extension of this line of thinking led to reflections on displacement, succession, and survival, the potent realities of our times. From disappearing plant and animal species to migrating cultures, the work explores the fragility of precious and vanishing worlds and the innate challenge of adaptation for survival.