Statement

Painting has become for me a means through which to process information about human behavior and relationships. My work is generally about my past self and surroundings -- it's an attempt at a record of things which are no longer threatening. In a painting I can project onto a neutral surface a real event or story from another time and place. Using observations, studies and memory, I recreate in paint particular factual events either literally or metaphorically. My aim is to set down, rebuild, and reconfigure problems and episodes that have deeply affected me -- i.e. problems associated with domestic violence. I choose to reactivate those areas of experience which range from awkward to disturbing to overtly violent.

Each painting becomes a fleeting moment of clarity, a temporary resolution. I attempt to capture in each a unique level of immediacy and directness, which varies depending on the amount of projection and memory used. Each consists of observed and imagined facts of posture, gesture, and environment, and unfolds from the others to form a picture comprised of numerous glimpses.

I paint because I need to solve problems and I don't know how else to do it. Painting has allowed me to gain insight into how and why particular events affect me with respect to the people who are most significant to me. Each painting comes from a specific time and place to help validate and work through bewildering experiences. In paint, I can say, "You did this and I saw you. This is the way I saw you and this is what I know now."