Artist / Research Statement

In my work, I am interested in how our human relationship with the landscape and natural phenomena can lead us to think about the interconnectedness of existence, as well as time, place, meditation, and ritual. I am currently researching the following: how natural phenomena can inspire awe and hope and be used to think about the interconnectedness, harmony, and beauty of existence; the relationship between meditation and ritual and painting; the history of landscape painting, abstraction, ecotheology*, spirituality, meditation, and ritual. From a visual standpoint, I am working to push my body of work into new territory, fusing my approach to painting with my natural aesthetic tendencies towards graphic design, relief printing, and ink line drawing.

In my paintings, the intricate worlds of lichens, fungi, and mosses serve as the starting point. These sublime organisms help ensure and maintain life on earth. I draw upon the history of landscape painting and abstraction, together with ecotheology, to communicate spiritual ideas in relation to creation. Using the finite to think about the infinite, the paintings evoke the mysterious, wondrous, interconnected process of existence. 

I alternately manipulate the paint and playfully relinquish control to create these worlds. The imagery simultaneously fuses and dissolves, oscillating between certainty and uncertainty with the promise of resolving into something familiar. The luminosity of the colors and the use of abstraction convey the euphoric, transcendental sensation of my initial encounter with the subject matter. The abstraction and the colors stimulate not only the visual senses, but also act on the psyche to contemplate the painted microcosms. I hope the references to creation will invite viewers in, while the abstraction will challenge viewers to perceive in a way that goes beyond the surface of the painting, so they can explore their own thoughts and beliefs.

* Celia Deane-Drummond, A Primer in Ecotheology: Theology for a Fragile Earth (Oregon: Cascade Books, 2017), 131. “Ecotheology . . . is concerned with people and creatures as part of the wondrous gift of God the Creator.”