I earned a BFA in 1983 and an MA in 1985 at the University of New Mexico and have maintained an art studio in Placitas, New Mexico since 1985 working in charcoal, pastel and oil paint with experience in printmaking in the form of woodcuts and linocuts.
Over the years my work has been inspired by annual visits to the island of Kauai, a landscape dramatically different from the high desert of New Mexico. From the study of the brilliantly lush vegetation I create small landscapes of intimate spaces, a close-up of the plants and water, the patterns of shadows and light reflections.
Since 2016 that interest in patterns has led me to a study of zebras, the intricate stripes of each animal — their ‘fingerprint” — and how that translates into an almost abstract image, though one that still depicts the spirit of that magnificent animal
Artist Statement
Working quickly in black and white with charcoal is powerful and direct. I like to let the image grow, building on “missteps” as well as intentions, letting the animal emerge from and disappear into the formal design.
With oil paint, the addition of color expands the notion of the image moving between literal and abstract. I like when the subject is fluid, seeming to at once depict the animal, engaging the viewer through the always present eye, and then slipping away into an abstraction of colors and shapes.
