“My images, my paintings, unify abstraction and narration, first losing and then closing in on forms that speak of mythological archetypes. They connect with viewers through shared, deep memory. My shapes and lines dig into the human experience and allow for a visual representation of our lives and journeys. The work pulls viewers into themselves and plunges all into a world of archetypes, intuitions and allegory.”

Humans need mystery, a fertile void, to discover both universal and personal truths. This idea lies beneath my work. My paintings are abstractions hanging on the verge of a narrative, constantly plying a deep space in which archetypes seek form through shapes and lines.  I bring myth to my canvases to explore our modern world. The viewer is integral to my images as we both, together, survey the human experience through the art I’m privileged to place in front of them.

I typically work in series with multiple paintings in progress at once. I use mostly oil paint, but also water-based materials, and I work on cradled panels hanging directly on walls. My palette is a glass-topped table, which rolls with me from canvas to canvas. Often, my finished work peers through layered glazes and velatura. In this way and within this environment, I am able to allow my ideas and intuitions to find form. 

My latest work explores the interesting play of first introducing images and then, perhaps, denying them full form in my abstractions. This artistic dance allows for distinct spaces to emerge on the canvas, places that I hope find deeper connections with the viewer. Each time I enter the studio, I want to create art that imagines tunnels from reality to imagination, back and beyond. 

My work continues to be seen in both group and solo shows, including at the Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh. I’ve received grants and awards, including the United Arts Council Emerging Artist Grant. My paintings reflect my decades-long evolution from rural North Carolina to cities along the eastern seaboard. I studied at Lenoir Community College and the Savannah College of Art and Design and held studios in Georgia, Florida and now, at present, in Raleigh, North Carolina.