Artist Statement

In describing my recent work, two people independently used the word palimpsest—something that has a new layer, aspect, or appearance that builds on its past and allows us to perceive parts of this past. This fits both literally and figuratively, as I often use my own decades-old etchings or drawings and my Grandma’s mundane scrapbook mementos as collage layers. Art can transform the sometimes fraught past into a more hopeful present with new meaning.

In 2022, I began experimenting with the unique topography of oil and cold wax medium; it was love at first scrape. After building up a collage background layer on wood, I often paint and etch with a palette knife and monotype and fingerpaint until the effect evokes a wall plastered with worn posters and ghost graffiti. I like to surprise viewers with fragments that only appear upon closer inspection. Later in the year I discovered gel plate printing and began exploring monotype prints—both for use in mixed media paintings as well as for standalone, one-of-a-kind prints.

Lately, I've been most interested in exploring dreamscapes, sleep disturbances, and altered states through my painting. Yet I often don’t think about anything while I paint—and that is the primary joy of the process. Letting creative intuition take over is my favorite meditation practice.