Artistic Process

I am very much influenced by impressions, observations, and the emotional pull of a subject matter. To paint a subject matter or idea it must first intrigue me before I can translate it to canvas or paper. From there, I decide the materials, the manner, and the style in which I want to convey my message.

My need for variety keeps me exploring the confines and limits of different painting styles. I constantly work with varied subject matter and media. While my work may, at first, seem chaotic and eclectic, there exists in each of the pieces unity within variety. My paintings tend to reflect my intensity of energy and my love of color. I strive to achieve a bond of familiarity and impact via the provocative use of color, line and texture.

My paintings vary in subject matter and media (from watercolour to acrylic to pastels and oils) from close-up florals to landscapes to abstracts. My paintings reflect two philosophical views. The first concerns fleeting moments in time. The second concerns opposites. The ying and yang of life. In each work I try to take advantage of visual opposites, striving to reflect my personal view of how the opposites and conflicts in life can be merged to create harmony and balance. These views, whether abstractly or representationally demonstrated, are what stir my passion for painting.
 

I enjoy experimenting with different media. Often one medium will direct me to a technique that is applicable to another, which helps keep my ideas fresh whether I work in watercolor, acrylic, pastel, mixed media, or collage. With my more representational work, I begin a a painting with some mental picture of how I would like this painting to turn out and then choose the style and method that best suits this work. Abstracts offers the chance to manipulate colors, shapes, patterns and textures.

My abstracts are usually approached with no preconceived idea, or direction. I start applying pigment to the canvas or paper, layer upon layer. After subjecting the support to a multitude of textural effects along the way, I look for forms, shapes or lines that suggest a theme, a subject, or simply an ethereal concept.
This spontaneous approach, of allowing the picture to speak to you first, assures a variety of style and imagery, which is highly evident in my work. This interplay keeps the painting process intriguing and motivates me. 
 
 As you review these web pages you will see how I work in series where I address a particular topic or subject matter in a variety of media or styles.  I often combine aspects of the following styles in my work:  from a contemporary expressive style using contrast, verticality, colorfulness, distortion, placement, activity, improvisation, exaggeration, discord, roundness and oblique movements, to an embellished Baroque style where objectivity and reality are obscured. The main features of the embellished Baroque style include: intricacy, daring, fragmentation, exaggeration, full colors, decoration, activity, detachment, and variation.  I also fancy Primitivism where simplification, exaggeration, primary color usage, activity, flatness, discord, roundness, improvisation, distortion and imperfection are all present.  I am greatly influenced by 20th century modernism - in particular Kandinsky, Stuart Davies and the Abstract Expressionists.
 
 I work on various types of supports from watercolour paper to canvas, to doorskins. I paint with watercolour, acrylics, inks, pastels, watersoluble oils, colored pencils, gouache or collage, using them alone or sometimes all in one painting.  My paintings are an escape vehicle. They are a catalyst and a reminder to use your imagination, take time out to look around you, daydream, have fun, and celebrate moments in time!