"New York Grocery" Painting

The main idea in my work is about being human. Unlike a photo taken by a camera that documents a moment in time and space, my paintings are narrative observations and considerations. I blend the real and the imagined to look at how things are and what society expects of us today. I want people to consider the psychological, sociological, and emotional complexities of race, gender, age, and culture.       Before I became a full-time artist, I spent thirty years teaching elementary school. I read to my class to entertain and educate while allowing the author’s words to help the children understand human experience. I held the book up, facing the class, so the children could see the illustrations and help them see, feel, and understand what the words alone may not yet communicate to them. Being surrounded by children’s books every day and watching the children’s creative minds grow profoundly shaped my creative sensibilities. The daily interactions with children and the instant connection to their concrete thinking are captured on my canvases through simple lines, shapes, values, and textures in vibrant colors. My teaching experience developed my artistic language, also visible in my artwork through symbolism, narrative structure, metaphor, and the search for meaning located beneath everyday images.      My practice is guided by the belief that art possesses the power to foster empathy. My compositions often juxtapose vulnerability with strength, aiming to dissolve the barriers that separate people from one another; urging viewers to engage not just with the artwork, but with the issues it represents, using my canvas as a space for dialogue, reflection, and change.