Artist’s Statement

Art making is a way to reaffirm our humanity, the deep feelings and thoughts that make us human. The covid-19 pandemic and my own personal aging bring thoughts of mortality. The response for me is to say “yes” to life while acknowledging its fragility. Through color and movement my paintings capture its joy; through color and stillness they meditate upon its finality.

I create abstract art through a call and response process, placing a mark of color upon the canvas and then reacting to it. Every stroke calls forth the next as the painting shows the way, speaks to me. This act of discovery is similar to how our lives unfold, one step leading us to the next.

The garden is my muse; it has a special meaning for me. As a young child there was magic and joy in my father’s garden as I felt the softness of a Pussy Willow tree or relished the fragrance of a Lily of the Valley. It was my garden of Eden. Flowers continue to be life-long companions, metaphors for the cycle of life.

The two current bodies of my work are both inspired by Mexico. One is titled just that, “Mexico”, reflecting upon my personal response to a country full of beauty despite hardships and violence. The other, “al menos flores, al menos cantos” (at least there are flowers, at least there are songs), is inspired by a late 15th c. Nahuatl poem engraved over a doorway in the Museo Nacional de Antropología e Historia. The poem has simmered for years in my thoughts. It meditates upon our mortality, finding solace with flowers and songs.

I too find comfort in the beauty of flowers and songs. The purple blossoms on the Jacaranda outside my window, the deep red apple in my hand, Kandinsky’s vibrant “symphonies”, Rothko’s depth of color, a soaring violin, the poetry in words. I embrace life.