Artist Statement
When I was young, I filled my sketchbook with drawings of puffy birds with huge, pointy beaks and long legs. I loved drawing thingns feathered and furred, winged and scaled. I loved drawing insects, dinosaurs, dragons, horses, birds… And I still do.
Current Work
My work is about cultural expectations and the desire to fulfill or reject them. I explore the emotional disconnect between our feelings and how we choose to express or conceal them. It’s about holding composure in the face of adversity, finding refuge in the midst of turmoil, seeking whimsy in desolation, and celebrating beauty in turbulence.
I work in acrylics, using many layers in a dry-brush technique called scumbling. The lower-most layers are bright colors, with more muted colors on top — though in many places, the bright colors still shine through, just tantalizing hints of what is going on underneath. In a way, the ladies in my paintings are the same: there are many layers to them, and the muted facade only hints at what is going on below the surface.