For the past few years my work has been based on formal (and abstract) elements of art making: color and spatial relationships, line and form, and the varieties of mark making. I have given myself a limited number of ideas to work with in order to focus on what starts to happen when the paint is applied to the surface of the paper. In the studio I have small pieces of paper tacked up with these simple words on them: Dots, Loops, Lines, Curves, Shape and Structure, which are the fundamental ideas I have when beginning a new piece. I work in series, and often have five or six pieces in progress at any given time.
I work primarily on fine cotton rag and Asian papers, and usually start with layering of “background” information, painted with a variety of water based materials such as fluid inks, watercolor, gouache, house paint and acrylics. I often also utilize non-water based media (i.e. glue, oil crayons, tape etc) in order to have areas that ‘reject’ the layers of color. Very often, I will begin working on a piece, and then put it aside for a month or so, in order to regain some objectivity when I approach it anew. I also like to challenge myself by intentionally creating something at the beginning that I think will be difficult to finish, or I am unhappy with. I find that when I can analyze a piece and effectively add something to it that pulls it together, it becomes, in my mind at least, almost a scientific process, and I get the most satisfaction from that problem-solving aspect.
I am also quite simply fascinated by the very essence of paint and materials. I find it mesmerizing at times to watch as the paint goes down and areas blend together or as colors or forms change during the drying time. My best work comes at times when I feel that I have almost lost myself in the process, and the work is nearly on a subconscious level, but in the end my formal training comes back into the formula to make corrections and bring balance to a piece.
