Over many years of working as a visual merchandiser and painter, I have come
to understand how colors and forms underlie everything that we see in the world.
Artists see the world differently from other people. An artist looks beneath
the surface and tries to analyze what she or he is viewing.
An artist not only looks at an object, but also at the space and light that surrounds
the object, looking deeper to understand its underlying context.
My paintings reflect this deeper look by examining the curves, angles, colors and textures that make up our visual universe.
Art is a form of communication and self-reflection. A work of art should make the viewer think.
It should not tell the viewer what to think, but should help that person to start thinking in a
new way. By creating paintings an artist reflects something about her or himself and what she or he
finds visually interesting or beautiful. Through whatever medium art offers the viewer the
opportunity to see life from a new perspective.
The act of creating is spiritual. While the artist is working she or he is communicating with
the creative life force. The artist is working in conjunction with that energy and shifting it. There is a measure
of letting-go that must occur in the creative process. Some of the most deeply spiritual moments in my life have
occurred while surrendering to the creative process. The encounter with creative energy is certainly an
encounter with the divine. It is this experience of working with the creative energy that
is the most important part of every project.
The artist in our society is undervalued and artwork is trivialized. Yet, in my own experience and
studies of art I have found that art is a powerful communicator and often cathartic.
An artist can express things through visual means that cannot be communicated in words.
The work of waking up the artist in everyone is therefore revolutionary. It may be the most
important work of all. If everyone was in touch with her or his creative energy imagine the
transformational work that could be done!
