Artist Statement

My contemporary landscapes are ment to give breathing space to hurried everyday lives.

The familiar elements of sky, earth, water, and vegetation, are the references we all share to create our personal perception of the landscape. It's the natural landscapes we experience everyday that excites me to paint. My paintings are more than direct portraits of the landscape. Have you ever taken a roll of film to record the memories of an event and been disappointed because they just don't capture what you felt? The processing is fine, the camera doesn't lie, but there is just not the totality of feeling you remember? It is this totality of feeling that strive to capture in my contemporary landscape paintings using alternative color choices and simplified shapes to stimulate your senses to remember the feeling.

When I experience a landscape, my first impression is usually visual, the influence of the light on the atmosphere that veils or reveals the thrust of the earth, the grandeur of vegetation or the reflection of its influence on water. My perception is layered by my other senses; the sweet smell of the grass after a long awaited rain, the sting of the winters cold on bare skin, the rumbling sound of distant thunder. I could unknowingly tense my muscles as a survival response to the overbearing presence of a storm or be relaxed by warmth of the sun allowing me to contemplating my inner most thoughts. The synergy of my senses creates the moments of deep emotion that I interpret in my paintings.

My contemporary landscapes are ment to give the viewer breathing space from our hurried lives. The paintings allow you to wonder through the  paint and brush strokes, that reflect the images of many days of unnoticeable growth; chance twists and turns, and down right struggle to survive. The alternative choice of color and simplified shapes encourages the viewer to remember their experiences with nature and enjoy the view.