ARTIST STATEMENT
Some visual material exists most effectively as stories; some as movies, some as drawings and some as photographs. Then there are ideas or images that exist most effectively as paintings. My paintings create a sense of place. The places are both public and private, but are all completely focused on the inherent complexities of the surrounding environment, and are therefore devoid of people, or the human figure.

Public spaces are unbiased and are not specific to any one individual. The private spaces cater more towards viewer investigation as well as my own personal exploration. The viewing experience is the primary intention of the pieces. They exist as paint on canvas and are meant to be investigated from both near and far, for their technique as well as their realistic content. As in everyday life, an image can possess stillness without being a static moment. The places are visually idealized as I perceive them. This visual experience, along with paint handling technique, is what sets my work apart from photography.

The images are representations of places, and are constructed with the intent to take the viewer there. The places are enhanced by stylizing the entire spectrum of light and dark color. They are painted with a lush glossy surface, emphasizing the depth and richness of the color. Place and pictorial composition are combined to create silent, but grand visual metaphors on a human level. The subtle dichotomy of emptiness and fullness, of darkness and light, is combined to allude to themes of solitude and existence. The synthetic environments found within the natural world are indirect references to human existence. Natural and synthetic light, in conjunction with the manipulation of color, affects the mood stirred within the viewers’ subconscious. I present the depiction of reality to be revisited, or re-examined by the audience. The quiet and unbiased openness of these actual environments allows for individual projection and perhaps a chance for universal appeal.
                                                            - September 29, 2005