Artist’s Statements have always been a struggle for me. I’m going to guess that they are for most artists. We aren’t always as accustomed to expressing ourselves in words as we are to doing so with images. Plus, frankly, they can feel kind of… well… bullshitty.
However, it’s also understandable that those who view and enjoy your work would like more insight into your motivations and intentions. Visually, they can see what you created. Now, they want to know why you created it.
I’ve been working on some marketing and public relations efforts as well as preparing for my solo show in 2020, and my artist’s statement was a couple of years old. While I still feel that it is very relevant to my work and who I am, I also felt it was time to update and shorten it.
So, without further delay, here the two versions are, side by side. I’d love your feedback. Do you want to know something more or different? Tell me in the comments!
2019 Artist’s Statement
Safety and magic rarely intersect. People often caution me against hiking alone, but I never lack company when in the presence of saguaros, hoodoos, mountains, trees, and bees. The moments I spend by myself in nature are as important as the paint I use to coat my brushes, filling me with beauty, inspiration, wonder, and peace.
Back in the studio, photographs never seem to capture the enchantment or grandeur of my experience. My personal challenge as an artist is to create scenes that convey my perception of the world and transport the viewer to that magnificent moment made permanent.
2017 Artist's Statement
More and more, we find ourselves disconnected from what is real - whether it’s “reality” television, “fake news,” your friend’s social media profile, or a digitally manipulated work of art. While I consider myself to be a technophile, I conversely also crave authenticity - both from the world around me and in artistic expression. We’ve become accustomed to the ability to copy, paste, and undo, and lost the humanity of unchangeable strokes, colors, and compositions. As a counterpoint, my 100% analog paintings convey my permanent, personal interpretation of and response to real moments I’ve spent in nature.
In many aspects of life, I feel driven to dare myself to do what feels uncomfortable, to reexamine what I dislike or avoid. In 2016 and 2017, I challenged myself to a whole new life, leaving everything I knew and traveling full-time across the United States and in the Caribbean. During this time, I also charged myself with exploring a different medium and subject matter. My previous work was based in portraiture of people and objects, gravitating toward a focus on an item and its details. Landscapes and their seemingly never-ending, complex components were overwhelming for me to process visually and conceptually. So, naturally, I became a landscape artist.
I have always loved to showcase personality, bright color, and pattern in my style. As a child, my imagination was captured by the concept of pointillism. As an adult, I became a collector of folk and outsider art, drawn to its pure expression, bright colors, and bold patterns and colors. Both of these interests have inspired and informed my painting style and use of color.
I am truly honored by anyone who enjoys what I create and finds it to be beautiful, amusing, or interesting. The world can always use a bit more beauty, and I enjoy contributing to that in my own small - but real - way.