Artists Statement

Since returning to visual art in 2009, I have been developing a visual language of symbols and marks. I ask myself, Where is the center? Where can this shape take me? Where is the mystery and the unexpected? Can I allow them to emerge? Where is the play? How can I create intimacy and expansion?

I work in series to see how far I can push a particular idea. Each successive piece affects the next one. I also like have multiple chances to try things out.

The plein air oil paintings are a blend of conceptual and physical. You arrive at the place at a certain time, ready to receive what is there. It is impossible to control everything. There is only that moment, that vista, that collection of colors, even if you try and return at the same time of day. The sun beating down on your neck and back, the insects that buzz around your head and land in your paint, the dust and sand that blows onto your wet painting or the sudden gust that flips it face down in the dust.

The Columbia Slough project is about finding landscapes within the city. This slow moving creek hidden behind industrial Portland is not easily accessible. Over the new few years, I will be locating access points and painting plein air scenes of the slough. I will be getting to know it and the people who fish, kayak and canoe in it.