Twilight Murmuration, Mineral pigments, oyster shell, sumi ink and silver leaf on Kumohadamashi paper 12 x 12 inches 2017
The World Seen (and Unseen)
The imagery in my paintings originate from direct observation and recollections from my daily walks. From the familiar neighborhoods surrounding my Richmond studio, Oakland home or the unfamiliar environs of places I have traveled, I am drawn to spaces where the effects of time and attrition have left their mark.
I make paintings on and of paper. I work with mineral and earth pigments, Japanese and European style papers as well as various metal leafs. My intention is to create work that speaks to both the natural decay of things and the beauty that can arise from embracing that inevitability. My work is very process focused from making my own paints (sometimes foraging for pigments), to stripping away hours of work in order to find the essence of each piece. I often collage these bits and pieces removed from one work onto another. This merging of techniques from both drawing and painting work to build layers of diaphanous surfaces suggesting time and place. Glazing, masking, erasing, scraping, and gluing, I work until memory and process merge.