Beach Umbrellas on the Riviera Painting

I came to America with my parents as an Estonian refugee. Being from a different culture has had a deep impact on me. My art is a search for a home, physical and spiritual. I want to hold on to the beauty of places and people in my life. There's a power in repetition. I paint the view of my field in Vermont over and over. In that way, I feel I am holding onto my field. It's liberating and meditative at the same time. Over time, life has become ever more miraculous to me. Through painting, I create my own idealized reality and the permanence that I want. You can have the ideal thing in art. I'm inspired by Edward Hopper, Fairfield Porter, Alex Katz, & J.M.W.Turner whose works evoke the fleeting nature of life. I don't take anything for granted. When I paint, I feel free. I have a conversation with the art I've loved. As to process, I paint intuitively and let what happens on the canvas evolve. Style conveys meaning and the handling of paint tells its own story. I love tactile marks that create energy. I also make many paintings with classical layering of colors and slow building of light, forms and mass. I work alla prima when I need a flat, minimalist calm. My emotions determine how I handle paint. There's nothing else like the pleasure I get from art. I want to give my work that same energy - a spirit that separates art from artifact. That uplifting feeling is what I want the viewer to experience. Change is often the enemy of the ideal but I'm open to it without compromising my personal vision to the winds of fashion. Great artists, who give free reign to their feelings, memories & skills, still inspire me. I'm grateful to be making art at this moment. It's a great period for artists.