About the Exhibit

This painting series—Developed and Less Finished: Maintaining Life—uses developed compositions and less-finished paint applications to depict mysterious scenes of figures in interiors maintaining life. These memory-inspired works do not have obvious narratives but are based on a collection of moments in time. The themes of maintenance, celebration, conversation, and leisure use formal elements of figures in interiors and perspective for emphasis.  The individual pieces are not intended to portray real life but show figures in shared physical and mental spaces that create magical and mysterious elements within each composition. Many of the pieces blur the line between depiction and magic realism so that the events can seem weird, magical, or wonderful to a spectator.

Artist Statement

The process started from actual experiences. I was fascinated by how people interact within their individual day to day routine. The idea of a less finished paint application was in two parts. One part was a mixture of how little information or detail we receive while interacting with others or experiencing a moment. The second part was experimenting with paint application and being aesthetically drawn to the thinner, translucent, and using paint drips as a part of the composition. Once the composition was experienced, it was sketched onto a gessoed lightly colored canvas using willow charcoal and then painted.

My works are painted as a developed composition with a less finished oil and charcoal paint application using interesting perspectives inspired from personal memories of figures in interior settings and grouped (for discussion purposes only) into themes. The composition narratives are rendered vague intentionally in order to allow the viewer to identify with the everyday families, experiences, and settings within the paintings. Although the actual memories are not revealed, memory is a dominant component for the subjects, composition, and expressive application of paint exploring the complex connection between people and their homes. Appearing unfinished, I am able to capture the memory as it was created in moments between the start and the finish.

Special Events

Opening Reception
Friday, August 21, 2015 from 6 – 8 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Food is complimentary thanks to the generous contribution of Whole Foods Market
Beer and Wine available