Artist Statement

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My paintings move. They breathe and pulsate, like all of nature during its seasonal shifts. I walk the river and coastal marshes near my southern Delaware home observing intersecting branches, billowy cloud shapes, the sun, moon, still and textured patterned waterways, exaggerated plant forms, and coastal reeds as they reach up, entangle, sway, and vibrate to all the elements. Nothing is quiet in my paintings and mixed media collages.

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Since my studio art college days at the University of Massachusetts, where I received both a BFA in art education and a MFA in painting, I have been attracted to paintings that have a life force in them, paintings that go beyond technique and show there is a soul behind the work. I love loose gestural line, patterns, all color, and direct expressionist handling of paint.

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I'm seeking in my work that slight borderline between visible representation and just the abstract expression or feeling of the sense of place. I love that back-and-forth dialogue I have with the work. Painting challenges me daily to trust my intuition and push through not relying on what is safe. For example, I need to stop reaching for the blue paint tubes!