My paintings and drawings have always been about a search. If I don’t feel the search and the struggle within that search, on some level, I somehow don’t believe it.
I want my brush to be both wise and foolish. I want my images to rise from the paint and not be forced into it. If an image doesn’t rise out then that is fine too. I have a real need to be surprised by what I make so I find myself making decisions that I wouldn’t normally make. The infinite number of choices within the artistic process gives me a sense of freedom I can’t get anywhere else. It is a thrill that I’m addicted to.
I find myself drawn to images that describe for me this process of change and flux, journey and search… canoes, the line itself, anything with wheels, elements wind, water, fire, also symbols of stability and stagnation… the house, the tower, the cage and the trap which are all places to grow, spring or break from. I love the idea that we carry all that has happened to us with us at all times. We are always churning inside with imagery and memories. The immensity of our experiences make us each a walking, breathing universe and not merely carriers of baggage.
When I paint and draw the pushing of the material around helps me to remember things and helps me to see and reflect in a way that I don’t normally see in normal waking or sleeping hours. My work is about the feeling of the human drama, riding it, drowning in it and blooming from it.
