My art comes from within, rather than being a depiction of forms and arrangements in the world. I often begin with a hunch, a partial idea, and then experiment with color, shape, and movement. My tools are imagination and energy. I explore and experiment once the work has begun, interacting with the particular set of possibilities that each painting presents. I feel free to let the work evolve as it will.

As a gestural painter I paint movement that can lead the eye and suggest paths to follow. I am fascinated with color and try to explore it wisely by building layers of contrasts and pattern. I want the viewer to think about what can peak through a focal area of a painting or what underlying colors and shapes can be enjoyed. I love ambiguity in art and try to build pathways that invite the viewer to explore. Ultimately, an interpretation of one of my paintings contains a mix of the viewer's imagination and my own.

In studying art after a career as an academic at OSU, I have found some fascinating connections. As a professor I addressed the writing development of children and studied the writing process. Now as an artist I can see some of the same processes at work. I experiment with planning in art, knowing about planning as a writer. I rehearse a painting when I am away from the studio and revise my art in my imagination, just as writers rework their texts mentally. When I study new concepts in art, I reach for a connection to the writing process in order to understand. My work as a teacher and learner at OSU is serving me well as I paint each day in my studio.