Artist's Statement

As an abstract mixed media and collage artist, I am inspired by life experience and flights of wonderment. I’m passionate about color, vibrance, and pattern, though sometimes I lean toward earth tones. My subject matter is diverse: I love doing conceptual beach scenes, as well as architectural composites and bold geometrics…celebrations of circumstance…elements of mood, motion, mystery -- all with a tinge of humor.

Often, I have no specific goal when I begin painting, so I’ll sploosh some marks on the canvas and hope they animate. Meaning usually reveals itself in the process, though at times I get little cooperation. Lines and curves without a plan, however, produced “All Roads Lead to Maybe” and an intercosmic visitor against a starlit sky became “Souvenirs from Earth”. (These can be found in the gallery portion of this website.)

When starting a collage, I’ll browse through the profusion of papers I’ve amassed, trusting that one will grab my attention. Or I might go straight to my favorites. This burgeoning collection (obsession) spans the gamut of subject, color, and size, sourced from a variety of vintage and current magazines, comic books, and sundry scraps -- all filed accordingly (my own system). Several papers jump out at me, and I then select others that will harmonize. Whimsically, I might choose a few intriguing yet unrelated pieces, which do present a challenge: you don’t know who might get along until they’re introduced. Before I know it, I’ve assembled an unruly pile of possibility, which I know contains a story.

The ‘first draft’ layout presents boundless prospects, which I find exhilarating: I am team captain, deciding who gets placed on the field and who’s relegated to the bench. I can move these players around endlessly, without concern over indecision. A pleasing composition merits a photo. This might go on for days, uncommitted till I’m ready to glue. Or till exasperation sets in…

I also enjoy experimenting with new techniques and textures, chemically altering papers, and manipulating images in the copy machine. To me, these activities present a rollicking good time…

At the heart of my work is the wish to amuse. Some find my art ‘clever’, ‘entertaining’…occasionally ‘eccentric’.