about
When I was three - almost four (this distinction is really important as a little kid) we moved into a new house. As a family, we took on the challenging endeavor to remove the ghastly wallpaper that covered the walls of every room. This hideous installation had been applied with paste which made it nearly impossible to remove. We would dip sponges into a mixture of water and vinegar, smearing it onto the wallpaper in the hopes of saturating the glue beneath. Once we were convinced it was sufficiently soaked we would attack the sections of wall with tiny scrapers. What was left were little islands of remaining paper, scattered in bizarre shapes throughout the room.
When I was supposed to be napping I would stare at these patches; and much like cloud gazing, they would transform themselves into something more than just defiant shards of the prior dwellers’ poor taste. I saw a leopard perched in a tree; a fat man with a cigar stuck to his lip; a giraffe on a balloon ride.
This is my memory.
It is experiences like this one that have shaped my approach to creating artwork. Years later I still find myself happily gazing. Whether it is the subject of my artwork or the artwork itself, I am always gazing as much as imposing my brush or knife. After nearly 14 years of painting, what drives my passion to create is that ability to make artwork that leaves room for us to insert ourselves.
“Poetry, music, and painting are all products of the imagination, and also make visible the way the imagination works..”