ARTIST STATEMENT

My earlier paintings derived from my long-standing interest in working with container, vessel and pod shapes. Besides these containers, I have also been fascinated with doors and windows. I’ve been painting vessel forms such as canoes and bird-baths for three decades, and they continue to be a part of my image vocabulary.

The newer series entitled M.O.H.M.O.N (Marks of Humans, Marks of Nature) derives from two elements: first, a combination of attraction, revulsion and fascination with the markings of humans. Why do I dislike graffiti, and yet love Anasazi petroglyphs? How can I dislike defacement of walls, when I enjoy etchings of initials on a Medieval wall? Graffiti is everywhere. The other elements derive from a fascination with shapes in nature—water with light, etched sandstone, shadows and light. Even if the images last a moment, they are some of the most beautiful images to me that continue, unchanging over time. In a way these shapes become an “anecdote” for our human marks. At the same time, they each have their own form of grace, and so I seek to hold them both.