Artist’s Statement

I find nature a continuous source of inspiration for my art and relish the intimate relationship with my subjects that the process of drawing and painting them provides.  Exploring the color relationships and the interplay of form and space in nature is deeply satisfying to me. I enjoy working on a subject that interests me in a variety of media, usually doing a drawing of a subject before painting it; then, if the subject is compelling enough to me, I will explore it further by doing an etching, monotype or linocut of it.

Printmaking in its various guises – etching, monotype, monoprint, linocut – constantly challenges me. Having started out my art studies working with metal, making jewelry and doing enamelling at Skidmore College, I continue to have an affinity for working with metal. I enjoy working with the materials of printmaking – drawing on the metal plates, etching the plates and finally printing them… and especially the excitement of seeing the completed image for the first time on paper. Monotype is especially satisfying because of the immediacy and spontaneity of the medium.

There is a dialogue that happens between the subject and me when I am painting or drawing, beginning with my initial visceral response to it. Capturing that original visual excitement and communicating the feeling it evokes in me is the ultimate challenge for me. If I’m painting Mt. Lafayette, I want to capture its specific character, the forces that created it and the feeling it evokes in me. When others respond to my work and feel somehow transported to that place, I feel exceedingly gratified.