Artist's Statement

I'm interested in the role of art to convey spiritual ideas as an outcome of meditative experience rather than pre-conceived form. With this in mind I paint devotionally. The act hinges on the belief of being fully known in the unknowing state. I'm exploring the notion of an entity becoming more fully itself; there being harmony in the essential nature of something or someone moving to that end. My painting is an expression of this life journey mirrored through the progression of the work itself.

Technically this progression is revealed in the history of mark making on the canvas. The mistakes of previous painting sessions often find redemption in the final work.

At this point the picture is fully itself in my perception. At the same time I look for tension in the suggestiveness of what is seen by the viewer (as if the work is still evolving.) This tension between what is resolved and yet still being resolved is the source of engagement that I try to achieve.

Sometimes this emerges as a shifting middle ground between figuration and abstraction as if the images pulsate at the frontier between the two. For this reason my painting must become something to the viewer over time. I work with mixed media (acrylic, oil, pastel, charcoal and pencil) on hardboard, canvas and paper to encourage a varied and dynamic material process.