Artist Statement

I am a figurative painter with an energetic Expressionist style.

My work uses the enduring power of artistic archetypes: a figure as strong and silent as a warrior overseeing the human struggle or an eagle protecting and nurturing.

I work mainly on wood and strong paper so I can paint, scrape, sand, nail, peel, re-sand, and glue and still end up with a durable and permanent visual statement.

 A series I have completed recently is about the looting of ancient art from the Iraq Museum, Baghdad. I was teaching about Mesopotamian art at West LA College at the time that the news about the looting (in 2003-04) was hitting the media and I was horrified, angered, and moved to paint about it.

A new series, The Burden of Unused Wings, is developing as a figure bent under the pressure of wings that hang heavy and limp on the back. Another aspect of this series is the appearance of a Nike-like figure with wings unfurled. 

When doing art, I feel connected to life. For me, making art is an umbilical cord to the world and my place in it. I make art because how else would I know how I feel and what I think about things?

Showing, sharing, and selling the work completes the process.