For 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 ona 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 singand 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 my work 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 ofour lives..which to me is the what LOVE is about.          

Simplify

Encautic Mixed Media  18 x 24"