On a grey Minnesota winter day, I can take out a white piece of paper in my studio, pop open a tube of cadmium red, azo yellow, or cerulean blue paint and change the mood of my day in a moment.

 

The fun part for me is using paint, scrapers, brushes, hand made collage papers, or even a stick to paint or draw pigment onto my paper.  I often start a watercolor with cold wax resist.  This creates line work that is mysterious.

 

Sometimes I work from photos or an image in my mind but mostly I work in a free form style.  Much like finding an object in the clouds, I look for an image in my work after playing with the paint. Then I develop it.  I might see a landscape, a turtle, or a figure of a woman in her tulip garden.  My goal is to make the composition strong and the colors sing.  Other times I simply paint on site.

 

I have always loved the art process but had very little formal training when I was younger.  Later in life I attended Macalester College in St. Paul, where I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts.  My goal is to engage the viewer and make the colors sing.