"A Monkey's Manner" Little Girl #45 Painting

The figures in my paintings represent the concept of emotional awakenings with all the inherent pain and struggle revealed by that process. The inevitable loss of naiveté is usually thought of as an experience or period in a child’s life that ultimately widens her awareness of evil, pain and suffering in the world around her. My work is an effort to capture the essence of this transition from naiveté to awareness. Inevitably my own memory seeps into the work. But memories are a tricky thing; a conflict evolves between factual history and emotional impact, and fabrication becomes an important component of memory. The painting from memory-experience becomes a compound fabrication that may lead to some sort of general truth or symbolism as opposed to a literal document of experiences. I work exclusively in oils. The sensuous nature and pliability of oil paints give me the ability to build up lushly textured surfaces, where I can layer and build an intimate surface history. On the flip side exists the almost unbearable need for patience, the wait time, the delayed gratification.