Artist Statement

The feeling of awkwardness is universal. Embarrassment sometimes prevents us from interacting with others.  I want to capture and celebrate moments of human vulnerability.  I’m asking the viewer to look at life with open eyes and an open heart; to embrace the awkward in themselves and others.
 
I’m attracted to the theatre played out on the front porches, streets, and yards of my funky, diverse, low income neighborhood.  I’m interested in the everyday chance encounters in parking lots and the grocery store line.  I attempt to recreate in paint fleeting glimpses of this life that for me is very real, powerful, human, flawed, often humorous and always amazing.  As children we were admonished not to stare. It is my belief that staring is the first step toward greater understanding. 
 
My painting style is as awkward and flawed as the subject matter. The intense heat and light of the south are expressed in my palette.  I never have a clear notion of what my paintings will become.  One mark leads to the next, just as chance encounters lead to new experiences. The characters in my paintings are complete when I fall in love with them.  The painting is complete when there is no next mark.