My abstract, mixed-media paintings are made with acrylic on canvas and boards. They are influenced by nature's compositions, textures, colors, and where my emotions take the brush. 
 
I start a painting by playing with color and marks, without attachment to a vision of completion, allowing an open-ended conversation with what calls to me. It’s on this underpainting layer that I may discover a different color palette or exciting new mark. 
 
I paint on boards and enjoy painting on canvases out of natural linen, as its nubby color and texture offer a translucent and radiant effect when mixed with wet paint and glaze. Working with a bold charcoal stick delights me. I love its smudge marks and how it peeks through the painting's layers.
 
In addition, scraping into the various and colorful paint layers offers an exciting effect as it reveals my appreciation of what lies beneath - a process that is freeing and fun. Gel mediums, wax, shapes of paper scraps, inks, pigments, crayons, markers, sewing thread, and acrylic paint allow me to honor what I notice.  
 
I let a painting sit for a while before I know if it’s finished.  l hang the painting on a wall in natural light, photograph it, and observe how I feel.  There’s no rush to finish a painting, only to listen to it and take it from there.
 
My intention with painting is to let go of my tendency to analyze and embrace allowing where I feel called to go. My evolving interpretation of myself is channeled through creating art, encouraging me to embrace my authentic self - a gift that I seek to share with the viewer of my works.