My work is from observation, memory, and imagination.
I like to work in series, each new body of work a compilation of short vignettes
that somehow reflect what is happening in my life, past experiences, learning, and observations.
It is about finding a rhythm with the materials that allows me to express those vignettes through my painting.
I am also interested in the emotional response to colour and spatial ambiguities, and in the effect of
music on the use of colour and space within the picture plane.
Although it is an important component as a first impression, the surface is meant to draw the viewers in, but the layers or underpinnings invite a more complex and contemplative experience. I use many layers of translucent oil colour to give the illusion of depth and to create glimpses of imagined secrets. I want to draw on the viewers’ memory of colours and shapes, through their imagination, to find the familiar and form their own narratives with the work.
Two other elements that play an important role in my work are line and form. The sometimes chance interaction and intersection of line and form produce an “intuitive” or impulsive shape that informs my choice of colours. My work is influenced by other artists, by patterns on sidewalks, by clouds, and by the interactions of colours and patterns in nature -- in other words, by my environment. Another part of that environment is music. The music can shape the mood of my painting, but because it is not static, the energy of the work can change as rapidly as the rhythm of the music – as, I suppose, does life and all its vignettes.
“(FORM + COLOR + TEXTURE + RHYTHM + MATERIAL + ETC.) X IDEOLOGY (THE NEED TO ORGANIZE) = OUR ART.”
— Liubov Popova