Statement

Artist Statement

I see my role as an artist to be that of the observer who pays closer attention and documents discoveries made, through the lens of a camera, a sketchbook of ideas, and the process of painting.

The light of day and my perceptions change as quickly as the river of time. The beauty of the world, with its weathered surfaces and random markings, heightens my commitment to the present and to the process of recognizing and of creating art.

The keys: remain a channel, be open, be intuitive, and be responsive to the flux.

Of that instant of recognition which becomes the creative moment, Josef Albers says, "Art is not to be looked at. Art is looking at us...To be able to perceive it we need to be receptive."

I am drawn also to the way Henri Matisse abstracts and intensifies his perception of the outer world and to his poetic response to that reality.
 
Matisse says, "The essential thing is to spring forth, to express the bolt of lightning one senses upon contact with a thing. The function of the artist is not to translate an observation but to express the shock of the object on his nature; the shock, with the original reaction."