Artist Statement: Philosophies I am taken with the exquisite beauty that exists in nature. The lichen-covered bark of a willow tree, the surprise of a red-capped mushroom beneath a field of green leaves, the subtle shimmer of a common rock polished by the ocean, the history written on the exposed roots of a redwood; these bring me to awe and humility because the are far more magnificent than any image I am able to create solely on my own. I search out places of solitude, far from the hum of technology and bustle of city life. Here I am able to find the sacred within the secular, to discover places that harbor profound feelings of transcendence. I am confronted with the larger natural and spiritual world that exists outside the human sphere but is always a vital part of it. Perhaps unsurprisingly, artists who manifest an awareness of the natural world influence me. I examine Japanese landscape paintings for formal composition and esthetics, as well as the concept of dwelling and traveling landscapes. Darren Waterston’s delicate rendering of interior versus exterior spaces and Judy Pfaff’s suggestively liminal spaces inspire the balance of the real and mystic in my own work. The subtle shifts of unexpected color in Trinh Mai’s work and the translucent layers of Hung Lui’s paintings remind me to consider the spiritual and universal truths that can be translated through imagery. I regularly step out of my everyday places and routines to explore my environment in the name of artistic research. I rely on physical movement, walking, hiking, running, to mentally move from the mundane to the mystic. I am quiet and observant, waiting for what marvels may be revealed. Sometimes it is a majestic experience that brings me to wide-eyed wonder, other times it is only the fleeting memory of a place that dances just beyond my reach. I take care to remember the things I see, as well as my sensory feelings, and write about the experience as a whole. I also draw maps, sketches of the land, the paths I strode and the distance I covered, which often influence the composition of my paintings. My writings are invaluable to my paintings and I reference them continually while working on a given piece. Also invaluable are the objects I collect from the places I visit and the streets I walk daily. I gather rocks, feathers, bits of metal and wood – each one a small reminder of my journey. I also collect objects less tame such as vertebrae from deceased seals and sea urchin spines. Sometimes these objects are incorporated into my work, sometimes I keep them as important reminders of experience. As I paint I try to incorporate all aspects of my experience, not only visual, but memories of sound, scent, texture and temperature. While I paint I will recall the particular fragrance of rain soaking through decaying leaves or the tactile surface of moss pressed flat by rivulets of water. My work is an evolutionary process. There is a give and take of forging ahead in paint, pulling back to question quietly, explosions of truths leant and vulnerabilities revealed. I strive to create balance of recognizable and abstract imagery, relying on memory to blur some details while magnifying others. Shifting color, translucent layers and minute markings are paired with pockets of representational imagery to create dream-like depictions of experience. I play with scale, working large enough to feel physically immersed in the painting to working small enough to intimately cradle the piece in my hands. Deciding on scale is an important part of the physical manifestation of the piece. The emotional connection I have with an experience coupled with my faculty to share it with others often dictates scale. The magnitude of the experience also dictates the size of the work; sometimes I am overwhelmed by the immensity of my experience in a specific locale, while other times the site is subtle and easily missed. In all of my work I strive for a feeling of “place,” giving the viewer an anchor to begin dissecting the image. In every brush stroke I seek to uncover universal human truths as manifested through nature and translated by my own eyes. With art as my native tongue I desire to convey an appreciation of this earth and the sanctity of life. I believe art transcends barriers of time, space and language, and that it has the ability to bring communion and understanding to all who view with open hearts. This is my life path, a journey I do not take lightly but treasure every step of. | 
