The desire to piece together or even unravel the fabric of my character and the mystery that reveals the secrets of my storyline and mythology is essentially what my paintings are about. 

 I have been shaped by an intense artistic environment and so my creative impulse is nurtured by different expressive forms.  I have a background in the theatre and film and have lived for many years as an Angeleno, in the back stages of many theatres and sound rooms, in the darkness of editing rooms. I find that I am affected and seduced by the character and ambience of a room or a set and so, in my paintings I am examining the personas, the dark and mysterious corners, the stopping places and launching pads of my own soul.  The LA crime novel has affected me in that I am forever investigating my humanity, the mystery of my meaning, my own storyline.  It is only because I dig deep that I discover themes that are universal, that others relate to, as we are all born of water, we are all in a waking dream of a mystifying reality.

 It is a most satisfying and provocative experience to paint from the shadowy and inexplicable place of my own psyche.  It is a baffling and wondrous adventure and I am ardent in my approach.  The theme of I have a right to my creative expression could be my personal anthem.  I remember when my doctor told me I couldn’t attend art school one semester because of pain in my hip due to a car accident, that I couldn’t walk to the class, that I couldn’t climb the steps to the academy or sit on the art stools, I said to myself, “I don’t care if I have to drag my body across the parking lot tarmac, up the concrete steps and stand for four hours at a time, I am going to those art classes and nothing is going to stop me.”  I meant it. I’m so grateful that fervor was in me and that I had the courage to honor it.  Every day takes courage.  Every painting.  It is good.  I must be the first person in line to honor my right to creative expression. The rest is the unfolding of my nature, my truth and my ability to reach, to pierce… you.

 In my exploration of texture and color I want to excite the sensibilities, to engulf, saturate.  Though thoughtful of unity and through-line, I seek to convey a freedom and visceral truth that is unencumbered by message or agenda.  This allows me to construct each work with a joyful, exploratory energy.  Of course, there are multi-layered and profound meanings for me and yet I intend that others discover the answer to the questions posed by my work with their own stories and possibilities. 

All artists stand on the shoulders of those who came before them.  I've had the honor of being nurtured by artists and teachers who are impassioned and sincere, who dedicate their lives to being art, teaching art.  I owe a special thanks to them for inspiring me, taking the time to not only talk to me but also listen to me.  They are all my teachers.   My work is because of them.

          These people include but are not limited to:

David Carmichael - sculptor

Ronald John Schroder, Sr. - sculptor

Patricia Ann Wilson - poet, journalist, novelist

Adrian Wong-Shue - painter, instructor

Robert Kingston - painter, Professor, Pierce Art Department

Constance Kocs - painter, Professor, Pierce Art Department

Greg Gilbertson - sculptor, Professor, Co-Chair, Pierce Art Department

Melody Cooper - ceramic artist, Professor, Pierce Art Department

David Oshima - Graphic Designer, Professor, Chairman at Pierce Art Department

Ellen Lane - mixed-media artist, instructor

Ave Pildas -  Chairman at Otis College of Art and Design

Thanks for the time your took, the time you gave, the moments you spent with me. 

I am forever in your debt...