Artist Statement

As an artist, I wish to have a unique experience each time I set foot inside the studio.  My most recent series of paintings, that I have titled deluge, is an homage to my most integral influence, Philip Guston.  I often think about the idea of a sea rising within, and congruently, my most recent series is about diving into this flood.  In suspending one's sense of self, submerged leaving solely creation and movement, they may be used as a vessel to create freely.  My goal as an artist is to grasp freedom and honesty while I create.

Philip Guston and the whole of The New York School have had a profound effect on me and my work.  The culmination of art they were able to create exhibit the triumph in the battles artists faced for their creative freedom throughout history, and this victory is what I resonate with most.  I am thankful to live in a time when I can still actively see their influence.  Unlike the favored New York School choices of abstract expressionist painters, akin to Kline or Mitchell, my strongest affinity has always been with Guston and his take on abstract impressionism.  His slower style of abstract impressionism in the 1960's is what I find most influential to me, with my most recent series I have discovered more patience and freedom through these methods. I hope to succeed the work of this time in my most recent series, bringing my hand into the fold. 

My current body of work has transitioned from full abstraction to a more figurative painting. In these new paintings I have been exploring more of my ideas of self and perspective. Through these new paintings, I have found myself slowing down in my process even further, often painting the same image multiple times to achieve a sense of solidity in the painting. Though this new series of work currently only houses two paintings, the ascent and azure bell, I feel it has already achieved a great sense of progression from my previous work.

The honesty of the painters of the New York School paved the way for more ingenuity in the arts.  The painters themselves are ever evolving throughout time and to see Guston's transitions over the years brings me great excitement and anticipation.  Where will this quest for honest painting take me?  To be open to the movement of my hands, to be free, to be submerged in the deluge, are all things I yearn for.  Throughout my life art has always stood by my side, a consistent peaceful companion in a tumultuous world.  I hope through art, my strongest form of communication, I may inspire as I have been inspired and share my love for this ever evolving field.