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Artist Statement
I really paint with my soul or inter-being so Yes, I have my very own unique style. However, all art movements, styles, and artists from the past to the present have influenced my own unique and expressive style. And, if you look, you can see a little of this and that, from him or her. VOILA, I think you can see where this is going! But like most human being, my artistic soul has been molded by my environment, experiences, dreams, upbringing, studies, travels, and just my long life. Sometimes I think of myself as a bottle of very finely aged Wine!
Why do I paint the female form? Well, I believe the most beautiful thing every created was the Female. Not only is the female very pleasing to the eye with the all the wonderful soft flowing curves. The female is the giver of life, nurturer, teacher, comforter, mediator, and overall, I feel, the humanities’ strength for continued existence. The female is a unique creature that has many complex elements which allows an artist to explore movements, shapes, line, texture, light, and color. So, after many years of life drawing classes, intense study of classical art, and hours of people watching, I love and prefer to paint the female form. And generally, when I paint the female form she is more or less in the nude state.
I loved studying the classical and historical paintings emphasized by the French Academy. Therefore, most of my nude forms start from a classical sculpture or painting. And this begs a question! Can you identify which sculpture or painting inspired my work? If not, that is okay! Because my females do not live in the old classical world, they are 21st century ladies with our “look at me” and “I have confidence” attitude. And they are my preferred subject! I hope you enjoy what you see.
My process is basically as follows: I approach a blank canvass after mauling over potential images or ideas for a very long time in my mind. After I have worked out a concept clearly in my mind, I will start painting. I quickly lay out my basic composition using large shaped areas that includes my figurative images in broad brush strokes of color on the canvas or paper. At this point my painting is very spontaneous and my creations sort of just pop out of my head as I paint. And painting goes very quickly. As you can see, I’m a colorist. I love using beautiful colors to define my shapes and space while using line to express details and linking my images together with a fresh rhythmic movement across the work. These linear details are the very last thing I paint! I hope you see the movement of forms, colors, shapes, texture, that are a result from my creative process.
I received a BFA in painting and graphics from Ohio State University in 1967 with a minor in Art History. I continued in graduate school studying Art History where I focused on 17th and 18th Century French Art. When I was younger, I lectured Art history and taught painting classes at college level before my life took me on another career adventure.
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