Showing at WEND Gallery August 31th through October 28th

West Seattle Art Walk Thursday, October 12th 5-8pm

Georgia O’Keeffe said that ‘to see, takes time’

To ‘see’ ordinary things with a fascination is not unusual, we do it often. Unusual rocks, leaves, shells, are pocketed for further inspection or as markers of time and place. My grandfather collected ‘special’ rocks from travels and labeled them, my mother and I followed suit.

This series of paintings looks at trees with that same fascination as if the stance and posture exacted on them with weather and time, presents a narrative to be discovered. On habitual bike rides, I observe the trees of Alki wondering about the forces imposed and muse over their correlating gestural response.

The trees of Twisp, were observed on a solitary hike, while participating in a show at Confluence Gallery. During the time of Covid, solitary wanderings were common for many; this hike in particular found sentinals, lone watchers of the trails.

These paintings embrace bold and expressive color to punctuate each tree’s story and create a sense of movement or vibrancy within a moment. The portraits are also a response to our nature of ‘seeing’, of being observers of nature, each other, and ourselves.

About the artist

My work as a ceramic artist and painter, contemplates the transformative process in the natural world and celebrates the nuance and surprises found in the ‘ordinary’. The work is part of an investigative process of discovering narrative, metaphor, and beauty (sometimes terrible beauty) in my life and the world around me to invite a deeper response. 

Much of my research is hands-on as an avid outdoor recreationalist and wanderer; scribbling sketches of fleeting moments and challenging my formal training in realism to capture a more immediate response to the subject. I hope to challenge the viewer’s expectations by reimagining familiar forms, focusing on how texture invites and repels, the impact of weather, contrast and the passing of time.