Artist’s Statement

    When I paint, I strive to keep the surface open, to give it air and breath, not to fill it up too much.  And then, within that open space, whether working with an abstract motif or one from life, I want my line and color to have energy, to create something alive, something that moves with rhythm and pulse. I want my paintings, whatever the subject, to have contemplative space and passion for life.

    I have developed my approach and language for painting from a wide variety of masters and traditions, from Western painters like Cezanne and Kandinsky to Asian ink painting, especially Zen ink painting, and African American improvised music.  Numbers--three and four, for example--are common to music, science and many spiritual traditions and have become part of my language also. 

   I respond most to artists and musicians who achieve a high level of invention, spirit and energy in their work, qualities which result from knowledge of one’s “instrument” combined with an ability to improvise, or, one could say, from skill plus courage to step out beyond the known. Such artists are not only an inspiration but also a challenge to study my “instrument” and go exploring.

   My goal is to create works which are alive:  full of spirit, energy and breathing space.  I hope for works which become a field of experience perhaps like the surge of life I feel when experiencing love, hearing a great jazz master, or watching the night sky and letting my mind wander to the unimaginable space of universes beyond ours.