Bio
The thrill of watching my paintings coming to life keeps me enchanted with the process. As I apply the paint I love to watch the interplay of color, form and negative space.
Born in Morgan County, Ky., my family and I moved to Lexington when I was two. We often return to the mountain farms of my parents and their ancestors. This gives me a deep sense of family, place and connection to the land. Kentucky has a special place in my heart.
As the sun moves and seasons change, landscapes, mountains and water shift in color and intensity. I feel challenged to capture these seasonal changes. I work from memories and personal photographs.
My technique involves layering acrylic paint onto watercolor paper or canvas. Using a squeegee, I pick up color and scrape paint onto the surface, adding texture with each application. Most of my paintings have 20 to 30 layers that I applied individually and allowed to dry. The interaction of each layer creates interesting effects. Sometimes I plan the final concept and sometimes I follow the lead of the paint. However, I most often paint somewhere in between these two parameters.
This process loosely depicts my subjects. It allows viewers to apply their own experiences in interpreting the work. A painting may allude to a landscape for one person and a waterscape for another. I like these shifts in reality and how questioning the subject engages my audience.