About LOVE (and Birds)- Mendocino Art Center August 1- Sept 1 2017
I'm having an exhibit at the
Mendocino Art Center
new work
About the LOVE (and Birds)
People often ask me about my paintings and what my work is about. I’ve shortened my answer: “I paint about LOVE”. That’s the honest truth. That is the “What” and the “Why.” LOVE...
I paint to express connections to those I care about. I paint the frustrations I encounter as I try to get close to another person… or the fear it brings up in me. In the studio I feel the visceral pains of loneliness, rejection, or disappointment when things do not go my way. Separation. Change. LOVE. The simple joy I feel lounging on my back porch inspires me… the hummingbirds or the cool breeze on a sunny day. Avocados. Red shoes. Water. Massive skies. The Infinite. LOVE.
The Birds that appear in my paintings are messengers for LOVE. To me, they represent ascension, flight, and freedom. They are social, they are committed parents, and they are colorful. Birds can sing and dance, they fight and some cry out loud. They play games and they steal things. Birds have compelling names: the Mourning Dove, the Laughing Gull, or the Lark. To me, they captivate and demand a closer look, a quality I know is also true about LOVE.
The Birds and the colorful, multi-layered surfaces on my paintings lend themselves to the idea that beneath the surface is a multitude of surprises. My intention with this body of work at the Mendocino Art Center is to continue to inspire you to look deeper into the appearances of things, to examine what you see and experience without drawing instant conclusions… to give yourself that moment where you allow yourself to feel and know, within, the amazing, inexplicable nature of our lives… which to me is the what LOVE is about.
Email Article