My paintings are conversations with myself in relationship with all of the natural world. As a kid, I was the one hand-feeding squirrels, training dogs, studying rocks and insects, admiring plants in the family greenhouse and helping my dad in the garden. The sight of things growing, shining in the light, withering and returning to their source is compelling to me.
In nature I observe that, within this beautiful cycle, there are myriad circumstances accompanying this becoming-thriving-letting-go-returning. Light interacts with color, shadows are cast, clusters of diverse partners share nutrition and chemistry, shelters are formed and discovered by other living creatures, and gratitude is expressed in the form of food that supports all living things.
My art is often rooted and reaching within a cluster of activity deep down on the vertical format of the canvas. In the sun’s light, life strives upward to its source, while the subterranean half of our world digs downward to process our remnants, providing foundation for further upward growth. This all happens in the wide 360º that surrounds us, but I am preoccupied with the churning engine of it all. There is a dance there that kindles my spirit and piques my curiosity, moving my brushes toward bits of understanding and moments of joy.
When I moved in 2021 from Kansas City to Matfield Green, Kansas, a town of 49 people, I thought I was just looking for space from the city, to be enveloped by the Tallgrass Prairie that I have loved for so much of my life. Instead, I found that a little bit of community, human as well as plant, could provide elements of what it takes to truly thrive. Here the cycles of life are starkly evident to me, and I begin to digest what I take in by working with line and color and shadow in ways that bring me closer to an understanding of each day in the natural world.