Artist Statement:
As a contemporary still life artist, my work is infused with the subtle textures and delicate forms from my ever-changing garden. Oil painting is an expression of who I am and these flowers represent the connection to myself and the people I love.
My fondest memories are of my mother’s gentle touch and her beautiful garden on the hill. My grandmother survived the great depression with her ten children because of her large vegetable garden. She also planted flowers to bring joy and simple beauty. Some of her flowers were lovingly given to my mother to add to her garden and then in turn were divided and shared with my sister and myself.
I am an impressionistic-realist painter who uses both the (direct) alla prima method and (indirect) classical glazing methods in oil painting. I enjoy the richness and viscosity of the paint—the variations of textures achieved from thin delicate layers of color to thick impasto applied with a palette knife.
I am influenced by the beauty and techniques of Henri Fantin-Latour and Maria Oakey Dewing. I share Fantin-Latour’s fascination with roses and his exquisitely painted flowers have inspired me to capture not just a flower but a “portrait” of an individual rose with it’s own unique personality. I implement his varied paint manipulation techniques using brushes, scrapers, palette knives and at times even the end of the brush to create sgraffito. Maria Oakey Dewing described herself a “garden-thirsty soul” and I share her passion of unique compositions with delicate twists and tangles. I love to capture the “sea” of flowers and the sway of the wind from my own magical garden.
In my art these delicate buds represent growth and the beautiful open blooms symbolize the offering of a prayer with a sign of hope and renewal. These flowers that I paint are the connection to the people I love and the sharing of the simple joys in life.
