Landscape Artist Statement

In all of my work, I strive to maintain a sense of expressiveness through the use of saturated colors and confident brushstrokes which are a reminder of the process and the physicality of the material. Many of my paintings are created ‘en plein air,’ on location from direct observation, however, I am most interested in capturing the essence of the space rather than conforming strictly to realism. Work done on site tends to be reactionary and energetically painted. My choices of color relate to the temperature, weather conditions, and my own mental state as much as they relate to the local color of the scenery and the resulting painting provides a snapshot of the particular moment in time as I experienced it. The practice of plein air appeals greatly to me for this reason; it is both an intimate and accessible art form.

As a landscape painter, I take inspiration from the beauty of nature but also in how places shape community identity. The spaces I depict range from cultivated public parks to urban alleyways, physical representations of community and connection. I am fascinated by the overlapping of memories that occurs in these shared spaces. Public parks and humble neighborhood alleyways are the sanctuaries of the city where connection is forged both with our neighbors and with the community identity of the city. 

In crafting my composition, I negotiate a simultaneous level of representationalism and aesthetically satisfying abstraction. Continuously balancing realism and graphic simplification provides a challenge that sustains my engagement in the process of creation and stimulates active visual interpretation. I want my work to reveal itself slowly. So much of our visual consumption is fast-paced media designed to be clearly recognizable in an instant and requiring very little effort on part of the consumer. I want my work to be seen at a slower pace and require conscious participation, reconditioning the mind to study and interpret the visual patterns.