Statement

Writing an artist statement, I believe, is akin to dancing about architecture.  The medium of words is an insufficient one with which to discuss the visual arts, despite the never ending river of criticism attempting to do so. To describe what I’m doing in words beyond the title of the work is telling the viewer how to think and feel. I choose what I paint for the visceral sensations a subject, a moment, a shaft of light or a memory evokes in me.

People bring their own meaning to what I’ve painted, and their responses vary considerably. I’m often told that my work reminds viewers of where they grew up, or places and homes that populated their childhoods. Others speak of a darker, moodier sensibility, despite the innocuous subject matter. I was recently told that my paintings felt like dreams, and another said that I was painting places they felt they’d been though they knew they hadn’t.

When my viewers experience such personal reactions upon seeing my work I feel I’ve done my job well.