Artist statement
The human subjects in my works are friends. I paint friends both in an attempt to understand them better and to honor their existence. All of the subjects inhabiting my works, whether people or trees, present a dichotomy: appearing on one level to be sentient and evolving yet, alternately, feeling alienated from society and lacking value. We seek to recognize ourselves and our emotions in art, to be at one with the familiar and come face to face with the painful reality of human experience.Over the course of my career I have come to appreciate precise observation, economy of visual language, along with the tremendous power of imagery and its role in the emotional and intellectual process of creating. Through the creative process I confirm my belief that art is always a true expression of oneself.