ARTIST'S STATEMENT

 

 

My inspiration is the world around me which I interpret with a bold, colorful, fauvist palette full of light. It is an expression of joy I feel seeing the beauty around me.  Some of my work uses the theme of illumination. For me illumination of light and color is central to painting.   Some have said my paintings are an elegant mystery.  I want each person to feel like they are standing beside me looking into a beautiful place of mystery where anything is possible.   The California fires - particularly the Basin fire that threatened the Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery - inspired many of my encaustic paintings. Because the encaustic process involves heat, the two seemed to merge naturally in my mind.     While the work is abstract, one can see the forms of the monks, birds and other animals as they cope with the fire and its aftermath.      Los Osos, California 2009