Artist Statement 2007

My work is about personal symbolism that allows the viewer to glimpse into the world it represents. My paintings deal with personal imagery, which relates to home, marriage and family. This narrative is told through imagery such as cakes, birds, animals and a recurring female child.

Expressive color is an important element in my work which often incorporates creamy flesh like tones or extreme color choices which emphasize the mood of the narrative. The narrow use of space tends to flatten into a tight theatrical staging of elements, bringing the viewer up close into an intimate environment. There is a division within the picture plane that is consistent in all of my work. This division speaks to the division of realities within a family. I divide the picture plane to symbolize the disparity between a families reality; how members of a family can have a different reality or differencing truth to an experience of a specific situation or event. My use of confections such as cakes and cupcakes are set to stand as symbols for celebration and rites of passage and the lusciousness or unease of these experiences. The use of the confections seek to represent preconceived notions of events, or to represent the outside package is not necessarily representative of what the “truth” is.

The placement of the personal symbology within the composition convey an underlying relationship between the elements, thus presenting the viewer with a narrative to be deciphered. The symbolic imagery reinforces the sense of security and safety, entrapment or threat that is variously conveyed by each piece. This is used as tension to suggest a more intimate relationship between entrapment and celebration. The more you are able to view the work the more the use of personal symbols allow insight into the world they represent.