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I have worked as both an abstract and representational painter but have consistently been interested in the materiality of the painted surface as well as the picture plane, playing with ways to represent and contradict deep and flat space. My work is influenced by traditional representational painting, modernism, abstraction and pure non-objectivity as well as by psychology, literature, Buddhism and my great love of contemporary music.
My recent series of paintings titled "Walden Paintings" are meditations on Thoreau's book, Walden: Life in the Woods. Each painting corresponds to a chapter in the book and uses an image of the architectural drawing of Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond to explore transcendentalist ideas and the meaning of home and belonging.
The "Walden Paintings" communicate the interconnectedness of figure and ground and, in so doing, the imagery points to the illusory separation between the two.
My use of color, marks and material creates a sense of mystery that draws the viewer into a contemplative space where the self feels whole and grounded. Over time and through trial and error, I have developed a painting process that depicts the sense of magic that one intuitively feels when truly connected with reality, just as Thoreau describes in all the chapters of Walden.
"The Ponds" is a series of diptychs in progress that are my personal response to the chapter in Walden of the same name. In this chapter, Thoreau describes the various ponds in the vicinity of Concord, stating his belief that Walden Pond is the most beautiful. He shows “a fascination with every aspect of the pond, from the temperature of the water, to the way it appears when looking upside down. Beyond seeing beauty in the pond, he sees purity, which he identifies with its lonely existence. He sees the pond as having the characteristics of its creator, and he feels he can get no closer to heaven than by being part of Walden.”*
*Kifer, Ken. “The Ponds.” Analysis and Notes on Walden, Henry Thoreau's Text with Adjacent Thoreauvian Commentary November 17, 2001 http://.
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