“You don’t need to leave your room.Remain sitting at your table and listen.Don’t even listen ,simply wait.Be quite still and solitary.The world will freely offer itself to youto be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”
“Joy itself is a form of wisdom.”
I believe in celebrating the everyday, every day. My inspiration comes from the commonplace, ordinary things around us. A sea shell, a carpenter’s plumb, a glass bowl. My intent is to ignite a sense of awe and wonder in the viewer. To make them smile and help them see the extraordinary beauty of the world in which we live.
I work from life, setting objects on a table in my studio. Through the use of birds, insects and other small creatures I combine the inanimate with the animate, the still and the not so still. Most of the wildlife I paint are native to the northeastern United States. Although I sometimes use photo reference for the pose, I have a varied collection of preserved species that I am able to examine for more precise information. Also, my home is surrounded with feeders and birdbaths, giving me ample opportunity to observe and record.
I am primarily a still life but also enjoy landscape painting, particularly working en plein air. I find being out in nature to be both restorative and inspiring and have integrated elements of landscape, such as skies, into my work. I seek to share the splendor and the joy that is all around each of us. To query the familiar, explore the magic, enjoy the occasional bit of whimsy and to celebrate the everyday, every day.