ARTIST STATEMENT 2026

My work as an abstract painter embodies a continuous act of noticing and questioning, a relentless pursuit of understanding and connection through material engagement. I don't illustrate ideas, I act paintings into being, thinking through the physical encounter between body, surface, and paint.

Poetry serves as the anchor for this process. I read a poem until it resonates deeply, then return to it before each studio session, sometimes copying it by hand, until it shifts me out of ordinary consciousness and into a state of embodied presence. The poem doesn't dictate what emerges on canvas; it creates the conditions for thinking-through-making. This practice of reverie allows me to move beyond task lists and obligations into a space where meaning arises from direct material engagement.

Inspired by Jack Gilbert's "The Great Fires," I view passion as "a fire made of many woods," stoked by layering experiences over time, acts of concealing and revealing, frustration and wonder. Color and mark-making resonate deeply in my work, inviting both exhaustion and exhilaration. As each painting approaches resolution, I remain open to surprise, welcoming the unexpected outcomes that emerge from risk and play.

Each painting shares its title with the poem that guided it into being. The poem itself, handwritten, is included with the work, evidence of the ritual that made the painting possible.