Artist Statement

Although I have loved art from an early age, it never occurred to me that I could be an artist myself. Instead I went to graduate school, earning a doctorate in English literature at Northwestern University, then worked in the editorial offices of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Perhaps it took the arrival of the new century to open new directions.

It was almost by chance that I discovered my desire to paint. I enrolled in an outdoor landscaping class at the Evanston Art Center, mostly to create a bit of variety in my daily schedule, but I was immediately riveted: this was it. The sensuousness of the paint and the soft wind around me filled me with an immense joy and a certainty of having arrived at my destination.

The sense of certainty has steadily deepened over time, as I have studied at the School of the Art Institute, the Evanston Art Center, and at the studios of Alain Gavin and Janis Pozzi-Johnson. I have explored different subject matter, ranging from landscapes to abandoned railroad stations, to rusty and weathered locks.

For the last years I have turned my attention to still life paintings. This has brought unexpected satisfaction in as much as it has allowed me a wide choice of subject matter, freedom of composition, and, above all, to chose a wide range of palettes. Whatever the subject matter, in the process of painting my imagination takes over, freely distortion and adding to any given scene. I hope that this personal interpretation speaks to the viewer and perhaps gives pleasure.