New Mexico Collages

Albuquerque, NM is the inspiration behind this series of works on paper. I lived there from 1994-1997. I worked with homeless families in Albuquerque and I lived across from a Albuquerque Rescue Mission that housed and fed homeless families. The New Mexico landscape is inspiring all by itself. I fell in love with the desert, the Sandia Mountains and the ever changing beautiful light and all that the Southwest has to offer artists.

This narrative series of black and white, and color works on paper and board, explore the process of collaging with glued textures. I build up the image with gesso, I then ink up the paper as if it were to be printed; however, I do not actually print off of the surface. The image is left in this crude state as a complete work. The pieces do not remain precious or pristine. They are an extension and reflection of the ordinary/everyday occurrences that I try to capture. The pieces 'Off the Pier', 'Two Shots Fired', and 'Women Leaving' also explore brown and black skin tones as they become central to the composition. Through collaged textures and multiple layers of transparent color, I try to capture the internal glow as well as the richness and variety of colors within brown skin tones. These pieces are a celebration of brown and black skin usually against a water background.

*Note: The printmaking technique of printing off of a raised surface is called a Collagraph. It is a very old printing technique. The process of printing off of a raised surface is very exciting. You can create dramatic lights and darks and intricate designs on the surface of the board depending how thick you apply the textures.

Water Series

Water has been a recurring theme throughout my artistic career. My personal relationship to water and the Earth is deeply spiritual and personal. My imagery celebrates the cycles of life which water is a part of. In my work, water often represents not only renewal and clarity, childhood exploration and movement, color and pattern; but, form and figure and even power and destruction. Water is an emotional tool in my narrative series'.

The latest series of images focuses on water related natural disasters and the human figure, in particular the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina 2005, and the recent 2012 Storm Sandy that devastated so many lives. I remember feeling like a spectator watching the helpless bodies of people, animals and the landscape get washed away. I was moved by the enormity of the destruction and by the loss of life captured in so many photographic and video images. I wanted to capture this horrific act of "Mother Nature," and focus on those victims who lost their lives. The hand color lithograph, "Calm after the Storm" and the oil paintings "Water Disaster Series #1 & #2", capture the indiscriminant power of storms. In these pieces the fury of the storm has just past and nature has gone back to its calm, serene state. The only things that remain are the bodies left behind, the changed landscape and lives.

Figurative Drawings

Before I collage or paint, I search for the image through drawing. My figurative compositions are pieced together from years of observation, photographs that I take, and from sketches of the model. Using charcoal, conte and an eraser, I put down and remove marks until I have developed a composition that works. As I work, the ghost image left behind from the erasing is used as a visual guide that aids me in determining where the next marks will be placed in the composition. These clues create tension and balance between subjects. Throughout this process, action verses reaction occurs, as well as unexpected accidents. All of these components function to build a strong image. The act of drawing becomes a spontaneous channel for my ideas, thoughts and feelings. As an artist I feel the most free at this stage of the process.

The human body is intense, intricate and involved. As an artist I get lost in the challenge of transforming the figure into planes, valleys, mountains and peaks. Creating depth of space takes the viewer beyond the factual representation of the figure (muscles and skeleton), into the realm of visual interpretation and expression of the figure. I try to capture a three dimensional form on a two dimensional plane. Foreshortening of the figure is especially nuanced. If forces me to confront proportion and the relationship between mass and movement of muscles and their combined relationship to create a figure.

I am a storyteller. Whether it is children playing or unnerving scenes from war, I search for the truth and honesty in the mark making as well as in the message that I am sending. Working life size gives the viewer a starting point to connect with the narrative compositions.

The essence of figure drawing and the part that moves me at my core is the spontaneity and directness of drawing from life (or the model). The relationship between my eye hand coordination and capturing the subject in front of me the most stimulating part of the process. There is nothing more gratifying than rendering a living form in real-time and space. Practicing this over and over trains my visual memory for when I am working on more complex narrative compositions. Synthesizing my visual experiences with my artist expression creates an aesthetic experience for the viewer.

Abstract Drawings

The series 'Abstract Drawings' came out of an class assignment form a former professor at SUNY Binghamton. Using charcoal, conte and an eraser, this professor had us put down and remove marks on large sheets of paper, until a composition immerged that worked. As you work, the ghost image left behind from the erasing is used as a visual guide to determining where the next marks or figure/s would be placed in the composition.

This liberating conceptual process enables me to solely concentrate on reacting and responding to my raw emotions and transcribing them through mark making on a surface. It is spontaneous, energizing and full of surprises to work this way. It is freeing and a departure from my more complex emotionally driven narrative pieces.

Printmaking: Intaglio, Engraving, Monoprinting and Lithography

Printmaking (in particular intaglio and lithography), has been one of my primary means of expression and concentration. I am inspired by the medium, the physicality of the materials, the printing and paper preparation and most important the collaborative environments, in which most printmakers' works are produced. They are all part of the rich tradition of printmaking. While living in New Mexico I attended the Tamarind Lithograph Institute for one year. There we learned all aspects of edition printmaking to become master printers. It was a rich and saturated printing environment. It was a wonderful experience and one I hope to someday capitalize on with my own print shop.

The artists who have inspired me throughout my lifetime have been primarily German Abstract Expressionist and the Old Masters. Whether political or satirical, or just plane exposing the truth in their times had a monumental effect on me as a young student. These artists were master draftsmen and woman who focused on the narratives and asked vital questions about issues that defined their and our social existence. That combined with etching, engraving, lithography, and other prominent printing media made for powerful images with even more powerful messages. Kathe Kollwitz, who remains my favorite artist, was a master at catching the everyday man and woman's experience during the Second World War. She captured the cycles of life and death and uprising for change. Nothing escaped Kollwitz's visual catalogue of humanity during that time. Her use of bold gestural lines, lights and darks, gestures mark making and context haunt me and truly inspire me to this day.

Driftwood Series

While I lived in New Mexico, I traveled to areas that were an inspiration to Georgia O'Keefe. One of the places was Abique Dam, outside of Taos, NM. There I have taken numerous photographs of huge pieces of driftwood that have come loose from the rocks and have blown over into the water. The trees are about the size of an ice cream truck. They are beautifully petrified pieces of wood with dramatic root systems and branches sticking out. Once they are in the water, their reflection can be scene underneath the branches. It is that beautiful relationship that I try and capture in my paintings.

Every couple of years I go back to the same spot to document the same pieces of driftwood; because, each year the water level in Abique Dam decreases so more of the wood is exposed. The lower water table is due to the fact that New Mexico had been in a very long drought that is depleting the dam. Every year along the shore line of the dam there are more rocks exposed which is evidence of the lower water level.

There is such rich visual history in the red rocks around the dam and in the landscape. As an artist, it is inspiring and demanding. Currently, I am incorporating old cow bones that were found near the dam (many years ago) into my driftwood paintings. These subjects add an additional layer of mystery and a sense of place to the pieces. The intense light and clear sky also offer amazing insight and opportunities to experience what Georgia O'Keefe and many other artists' have experienced.

Teaching Philosophy

Art is a vital creative experience that should be encouraged and maintained in out society. It defines who we are as individuals and it examines all aspects of our humanity. As an artist concerned about the status of the arts, it is my desire to support and preserve this process through teaching.

As a teacher I want to expose students to active artists inter/nationally and to artists in their own communities. I want to provide an opportunity for students to identify and develop their personal visual concerns. Secondly, I believe an emphasis should be placed on visual art awareness in relation to historical and contemporary contexts. This includes informing students about artists, movements, literature and physical art objects. I also believe in a strong foundations program in drawing as a basis for expression. Finally, it is important for younger artists to develop good communication skills: visual, verbal, and written, for professional advancement.

There are specific qualities that I have admired in the instructors who have influenced my development as a person and artist. Those qualities include a strong knowledge of their media and experiences in their field; enthusiasm for teaching, patience, and a willingness to encourage students to develop at their own pace. I believe a teacher's role includes giving positive reinforcement and constructive criticism. It is also includes providing a safe environment where students can feel comfortable expressing their individual concerns.

What is unique about teaching figure drawing, drawing, printmaking, or painting is that because of the complexity and the technical difficulty with these media, it is necessary for instructors to have a beginners mind when teaching. I believe that allowing yourself to grow and learn along side of your students is not only challenging but also vital to the success of the class and to the development of each student relationship. Art and art education is a collaborative process and one that should be shared.

Teaching is more than learning a skill. It is about the process of problem solving and exploration, which leads to discovery. I have fulfilled my goal as an instructor if a student has struggled with and has learned something from his or her own process of development.

In today's contemporary art context, especially involving the figure, students will focus on artists who draw on the figure in a traditional way with a contemporary mentality.

A Sample Of Contemporary Artists For Students To Examine:

Paula Rego, Eric Fischl, Wayne Thiebaud, Ed Paschke, Alison Saar (Betye Saar's daughter), Richard Diebenkorn, Elizabeth Catlin, Susanna Coffee, Cara Walker, Mark Tansey, Whitfield Lobell, Michael Mazur, Lorraine Shemesh, and Wilfredo Lam.

Woman Made Gallery ‘Radiance’ 2015

I have been fascinated by reflections cast from the driftwood because they capture so much light. Light is energy. As humans we respond physically to the play of light entering us through our eyes. Our eyes are drawn to strong contrasts of lights and darks; which attracts the viewer's eye to parts of a painting or photograph that the artist considers most meaningful. Water also, as a life force, is not only cleansing, refreshing, revitalizing, but it renews, sustains and creates life. We cannot live without water or light. As an artist the challenge for me is to provide an effective balance between appearance and understanding. Light as well as water create drama, movement, texture, purpose, place and feeling. Lights and darks can message our emotions softly or they can abrasively repulse us with intensity and/or subject matter. We cannot escape the purpose that light and water play in our existence.

My current series or paintings and photographs, titled 'Reflections Beneath Driftwood', capture the changing landscape of Abiquiu Dam, in Abiuiu, New Mexico, caused by a twenty year drought. They also capture large pieces of petrified driftwood that have blown off of the boulders surrounding the dam that have landed into the water. From 2008- 2015, I have documented the amount of driftwood that has been exposed to the light, because of the significant water level drop at Abiqui Dam, which has been ongoing since 1995, when I first started visiting the dam. Back then you could jump off of the large boulders into deep water without touching the bottom of the dam. As of 2015, you have to walk approximately 400 yards from the boulders, on dry land, to get to the water's shallow edge; once there you have to walk another 200 yards out into the water before it is over your head.

As an artist I also explore the physical effects of light in colors, which creates volume and texture in many of my figurative and landscape pieces. In my current series, light and shadow structures create emotional drama which plays upon an inanimate object like driftwood, that might otherwise seem unremarkable—by highlighting, for instance, the twist in a piece of driftwood which creates an intentional illusion of volume through a single light source. In my drift wood paintings the reflection becomes a playground to explore, reflection, light, and undertones. The composition becomes rich with complexity, both from the subject itself and from the light source which creates the reflection. Lights and darks are interdependent and inseparable. Without their contrasts we would be unable to see or understand the world.

Lastly, my current photographs and paintings explore multiple surfaces as well as the illusion of the reflection to create the space, movement and composition. The surface of the painting achieves a range of realistic textural effects: petrified wood, water, rocks; and bones are all described through contrasts of tone. By using paint to create the illusion of texture in my work, it also breaks up the surface and adds visual depth to the pieces. The driftwoods' reflection capture not only light, space, volume, colors, textures, but shapes, as well as reflect the stillness, or wind currents, on the surface of the water. Some of the pieces of driftwood are bigger than an ice cream truck. These large pieces of driftwood are stunning figures on top of the water with a complex visual story underneath.