Reflection Painting

Growing up in a rural town in the Hudson Valley of New York State, I was influenced by the energy and excitement of Manhattan while surrounded by the beauty, tranquility and dramatic season changes of the country. I now live close to where I grew up. My mother was an artist and art materials were my toys. Becoming an artist was never a choice, it was an integral part of my life. I loved the feel of the materials and was drawn to brilliant colors and textures. Not surprisingly I have become an abstract expressionist painter. I received my formal training from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York where I earned my BFA degree. I was fortunate to study under Alex Katz, Richard Linder, Robert Mallory and Mercedes Matter. Brilliant color found in the miracle of nature and music, especially Reggae are my inspirations. My soul was touched when I first learned about “Les Fauves” Matisse, Derain, Vlaminck, Kandinsky and when I saw paintings by Arshile Gorkey, Hans Hoffman, Willem de Kooning and Robert Motherwell. Every new canvas begins as an adventure. I work intuitively with no conscious intention, drawing from my years of development as an artist, the gift that I was blessed with and my absolute love of brilliant color and the texture of paint. The work is about rhythm, energy, light, space, and color. Sometimes I rely on a landscape structure and at other times a play between shapes, and line ,focusing on figure ground relationships. The texture, fluidity, and immediacy of paint feels like a dance. There is a point when a composition evolves and the work takes on a life of its own, balancing between spontaneity and structure. I usually work on three or four canvases at a time, but all of my work feels like one continuous painting allowing me a deeper understanding of my own self expression. My hope is that the viewer will join me in the adventure, set thought aside, and be open to allowing their senses to take in and enjoy my work on a purely emotional and visceral level.