The process is an arranging of figures which begins with a blank canvas. I begin works with any sort of clue that it gives me- a wrinkle in the canvas, a brush line in the gesso, a shadow cast on the surface. All of these things allow me to begin free of a structured idea and begin a search for what the surface desires. Staring, an image forms in my mind. The first mark acts as the foundation for the entire piece. At this point, it is not about declaring, but rather, finding. The outcome is never the duplicate of a starting idea. It changes, shifts, alters, and moves as I move and think. I grow with the work, shaping it with my own inquiries, and also listening to see what it inquires of me- It is a relationship.

 

I enjoy the initial dialogue between forms and the conversation that begins to form across the surface. I am captivated by the fluidity from one form to another. As each piece grows, the figures become not only about formal elements, but about these beings being formed. Crowds are thought-provoking experiences that I explore. I find interest in isolation in the midst of a crowd- minds that are blanketed with individual concerns unable to verbally connect to their surroundings; but, even more so, I am interested in the connection despite the disconnect: the inevitable relationship that exist regardless of the amount of communication- the unity that people inhabiting the same spaces possess despite secluded minds.

 

I play largely with vast space above figures- here I aim to find balance between abstraction and realism. No image in my head or in life is a still moment in time- it is a living action taking place where surroundings and beings begin to morph and form one another. Dana Saulnier summed up the idea very well when he stated, "We live in our surroundings and our surroundings live in us."