My paintings are inspired by my desire to learn to be present in the moment and paint from an instinctive internal source rather than from external references. I paint in an intuitive, improvisational way where the composition and surface dictate how to proceed. Abstraction is used in my work to inspire meanings and feelings unique to the individual viewing my work. When an image is abstract, the viewer has the freedom to decide what they are seeing by creating it in their imagination. Forms emerge from the surfaces of my paintings that seem to echo celestial bodies, deep seascapes, Baroque ceilings, or the fiery mouth of a volcano.

 Abstraction is my voice.  Painting in this manner has made me comfortable with uncertainty and feels a bit like painting without a net. I build the paintings up in layers and look for shapes and forms that surprise me as they emerge through the painting process. When I have a strong structure, I fine tune the details by allowing the painting to tell me how to proceed. The underlying layers still visible in the finished paintings are a map of my process, and I hope they will allow the viewer to be drawn in and visually experience some of the thrill of the moments of creation.

My work has been shown nationally and internationally, and most recently in Islamabad, Pakistan and Kyoto Japan.

Influences and Inspiration

The natural environment in the Grey-Bruce region influences my work and the Niagara Escarpment is a place I gravitate to when I need to feel spiritually connected to the land.  Whenever I take time to walk along the rugged coastline of the Bruce Peninsula (which is part of the Niagara Escarpment), or hike along the Bruce Trail, I’m excited by the natural dynamics.  The textures, the blended earth colours, the intensity of the blue water of Georgian Bay, the organic rock shapes and deep crevices, along with the isolation of the Bruce Peninsula and the feeling of timelessness, give me creative energy and the desire to paint. 

There are many other influences affecting my artwork that evoke a “subtle blend of the conceptual and the sensual” and a sense of journey. In addition to exploring the natural environment and reading about subjects that interest me, I have travelled to many places in the world and each culture and history inspires me and informs my Mixed Media paintings and prints, both directly and indirectly. Perhaps my work could be summarized as “meditations on the convergence of land, time, and memory.” 

Non-Representational Art intrigues me because of what I see as this paradox: That which seems to depict nothing in particular can actually hold everything.

This idea of “nothing” leading to “everything” reflects my understanding of the mysteries within my life’s journey. As I am painting I consider opposing forces of control/spontaneity, light/dark, horizontal/vertical and the interplay of colors that harmonize or contrast. Encaustic painting can be both fluid and solid. Layering, scraping and scoring become metaphors for time and memory within the paintings.

My Art contains basic structures, layers, fragments and edges. I explore these components intuitively. As I work on each painting I am bringing the separate elements together to create a whole. The ultimate meaning remains purposefully open-ended. For me this reflects a spiritual reality closer to the truth of my life than what could be expressed through a closed narrative or concept.

Within my choice to explore open-endedness is a response to current societal and environmental changes that I see as upheavals leading to what feels like an unknown and unpredictable future.

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