Efflorescence

This series started while experimenting with using mostly white oil paint. The forms are
based on flowers representing emotion. I have always thought how odd it is that when you
look at something considered beautiful closely, it is often pretty grotesque...and vice versa. If
bitterness were a botanical, and you looked at it under a microscope would it take a pleasing
form? The recent discovery of an “earth-like” planet also inspired me to wonder what kind of
bouquets their florists might whip up.
I work to use line, shape and color to evoke mood, to invite the viewer to swim into the
canvas. The curving shapes are meant to conjure sensations and the minimal use of color to
establish atmosphere. As most of the pieces are very pale, I feel that they don't always
translate well digitally. In more recent pieces I have been trying to maintain an atmosphere
that floats while adding more color.
The stretchers are mostly hand-built squares, which counter pose the organic shapes. Many
layers of water-soluble oils are applied onto the canvas to help achieve more depth.