Artist Statement

My attempts to cope with a number of terrible experiences led me to create a series of narrative oil paintings and recycled paper sculptures featuring vulnerable characters in allegorically fraught situations: - a blind horse,  - a butterfly with tattered wings,  - a cat on fire...  These pieces, drawn from “a deep reservoir of assorted traumas”, tie in with one another so that a story seems to unfold from one to the next. This is a story of consumption and abuse with “fun” & colorful terrors replacing the real world kind.

 When interesting ideas appear in these paintings, I explore them in 3-dimensions with reprocessed junk-mail & other discarded materials. By shining a strong light on these sculptures, I can better conceptualize how they should fit into the paintings: how the light should look, how the shadows should be cast...  The paintings and sculptures inform each other in this way.

 I also make studies of the fanciful forest environment by painting remote landscapes en plein air.  These serene scenic places take on an ominous air while they dusk.        

 You will see it in paintings & in sculptures.