A Note from the Artist

I am primarily a painter. The paintings often become a source and an element of my three-dimensional work, including whole-room installations and site specific projects. I am driven to find pathways within the self to achieve awareness, balance and clarity of vision. I want my work to be of service to viewers, a catalyst to their imaginations, a portal to the unknown and profound.

“Portals” (2010) I began to work on PORTALS in the fall of 2008. It consists of a series of large-scale, minimalistic oil paintings. This series is based on one form, the circle. I build up the elemental shape and colors by applying multiple layers of paint to the point of intense saturation. I use a variety of shades of purple from light lavender to the nearly black, and I paint rapidly at the edges to get a pulsating effect. I work on them in phases, with lots of breaks in between to allow them to dry before I apply the next layer. Although all the work in this series has the same initial shape, format and colors, each develops its unique qualities as it comes into being. Each painting possesses its energy and is its own inquiry.

“Triad” (2008) is a wall installation consisting of nine 30”x30” oil paintings hung one inch apart in rows of three. It took me nine months to create Triad.

“Out of Silence” (2006-2007) oil on canvas is a body of work containing two sets of triptychs measuring 48”x108” each.

“Watermarks” (2000) Artists and Writers on the Consumnes River Preserve, Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento, California. A concept built with decayed found objects collected during my walks at the Consumnes River Preserve in southern Sacramento County. It includes railroad ties, wire, rusted iron, stained red fabric, stones, bones, dried reeds and oily water. “Watermarks” is my perception of this fleeting world and of the impermanence of all things.  

“Pink Triangle” (2000) Created at the 4th International Congress for Performance Art and Visual Artists, sponsored by the Center for Contemporary Art Sacramento, CA.

A site-specific project consisting of an old bed, ashes, black dyed muslin, dried pink roses and candles. Installed in an old vacant warehouse. It honors and focuses attention on the long-neglected group of Nazi victims, the ones who were forced to wear the pink triangle, the gays who were persecuted throughout Europe.

Open Studio Show, Center for Contemporay Art, Sacramento, California