It's Not What You Think, no. 8

Artist Statement

The primary focus of my artwork has consistently been abstract painting. My work is about colour: how it takes form, creates space, provokes emotion and challenges perception. The painting process--the marks, colour and the impact of these--becomes the image itself, without literal reference. It seeks to evoke uncensored memories and states of mind: exploring possibilities, imaginings and openings.

The process begins images drawn from personal experience: from old family photographs or of people currently in my life. Inspired by these images and emotions they fuel, I write and draw over them. I then work into them with colour. The writing becomes buried beneath the paint. The texture, visual impact and depth of the many layers of materials and concepts capture the complexity of life. Together, paint, collage, words, form and texture build up into a density that reveals a deeper, nonliteral, experience.

As the layers accumulate, imageless forms become the wordless language of emotion. Removed from specific contextual references, these works become a metaphor for the elusiveness of knowledge and experience.