CHALLENGES Print

Since a small girl I have always been engrossed with beauty and nature. I have always examined the details of natural things, the texture of a rock, the color shades in a sunset, the way the wind feels on my skin... Running, Walking or driving I see in contextual spaces and color. It is the intimate connection between the mind and our primal animal nature that I explore in my art. There is a tension between what my unconscious mind is seeing and painting and what my conscious mind is trying to control. It is this tension, which reflects the struggle of the human spirit to find beauty and purpose between dreams and body, conscious space and unconscious space, which inspires my work. Bold color thrills me – subtle color and nuance draw me in to see what is there. I use symbols that express reality and fantasy which come together to tell a story of human nature, of our perfection and imperfections My intention has been to create works that are both beautiful and respect the viewer's intelligence. By presenting images and situations where immediate recognition and cursory viewing are insufficient to engage with the visual material. The approach is to create art with a greater intensity, saturation and luster in colors not generally seen on canvas. Paintings articulate experiences of psychoanalytic concepts as they relate to the process of creating art. I feel that art is therapy. It shows me a visual reflection of what happens inside my mind. I am able to sort out my thoughts and feelings through symbols and colors. My goal is for these symbols and colors to somehow touch and inspire the lives of people who are drawn to my paintings. I believe that art, like music has the ability to heal through vibration of colors rather than sounds. Beauty is constantly staring us in the face, it takes being present to recognize it.