My paintings began as slabs of clay, ceramic glazes, and the same tools that I use today to apply, layer, and scrape away paint. I fell in love with mixing colors and the smell of oil paint and turpentine, so I turned from clay to canvas. My work is strongly influenced by the materials I work with, not only their physical properties but their history. I paint with many mediums as they lend different qualities to the process: oil for the saturation of color and patience, acrylic for speed, collage and layering for depth, and encaustics (oil and wax) as it is tactile and most like working with clay. My paintings employ layers of color, boldly worked with palette knives and brushes.

I have been painting and exhibiting in Seattle for more than six years. My work is part of many private and corporate collections, including a series of 13 paintings for Mural Apartments in West Seattle. A 144” x 120” piece entitled fantango is the focus of the building’s entrance. A large painting entitled “middle school 6/7” can be seen in the November/December 2010 issue of Seattle Homes and Lifestyle.

In my most recent series of work, “fleurish,” I am exploring traditional floral paintings through a more whimsical use of dot and line, energetic brush strokes, and bold colors.