This body of work celebrates the vibrancy and energy of nature. Not only the nature of our world, but of ourselves.
Area wetlands provide the jump off point for my paintings, in that they inform my compositions. Rather than leaning into the descriptive elements of the landscape, I use its visual cues to spark exaggerated color interactions applied through interlocking shapes and bold gestures of paint.
Throughout the year, I create small sketchbook paintings at a small handful of wetland areas. Not only do these small studies provide compositional sparks but contribute to a muscle memory that guides my studio practice. The smaller works are used to further deconstruct and simplify the landscape into the shape and color relationships that take on a greater importance in the larger studio paintings.
The title Sacred Spaces evokes those places in which refuge is found. The wetland imagery is used to describe those areas that serve as sanctuary for wildlife and people alike.
