ARTIST’S STATEMENT

When I am creating a painting, I am engaged in continual dialogue: Perhaps my initial, vibrant vision was unacceptable. Picasso, I think to myself, had his approach; the public would prefer something else; a gallery would expect another.  But I must have the courage to follow that first vision, even though I have no reason to believe that it is right or that it is best. I usually do like the product better. 

Sometimes a painting turns out pretty, sometimes even impressive, but that's just icing. Nor is realistic representation necessary; in fact, it can get in the way. My work pleases me most when it evokes feeling, and I judge movies, novels and songs the same way. The moods that images can arouse are ineffable; paintings can be powerful that way, whether for a viewer or for the artist. 

I love communing with my audience through my artwork, and I consider a work finished only when it has found a loving home.  I want my paintings to grow on their owners, because that is an essential part of any creative venture. To absorb the affective content of a painting a viewer needs to take the time to contemplate the work.

(My wife used to tell me that this or that image had grown on her, and she was attached to the painting. When she was nearing the end of her battle with breast cancer, she told me of her two favorites and how their meaning had deepened for her. I told her she could take them with her and she laughed. After she died I made small reproductions of those two paintings and slipped them into her urn.)

I want my viewers to bathe in a presence. I want their hearts to swell with Iove, or joy, or excitement. I wish for everyone to have that experience with Art. And I wish for some of you to have that experience with mine. 

P.S. If you do look at my work, I invite you to take a few moments and ask yourself what feelings, if any, are induced for you. Even better, let me know! I long for triangular bonds among my paintings, their viewers, and me.