Everything happens at the edges—where land and sea, mountain and sky, color and shape meet. Abstraction is based in reality, and color is the link I use to connect my work to the world it comes from, conveying a deeper level of visual and emotional experience.

I'm inspired by color and nature, especially the coast and ocean. There is deep peace and magic to water, but also tremendous power and energy. I try to capture this energy both microscopically and macroscopically.

The things we see are nothing but energy and light vibrating at the highest frequency. Our minds interpret these as "things" with attached words, but they are still energy and light, framed by colors, lines, and shapes. The experiences we have enter our minds and live as emotional imprints beyond just what we see with our eyes. These are what I try to capture.

My work is an expression of the force responsible for the beauty of our world, and a reflection of my memories and perceptions. When I see the ocean, I see it at different times of day—the microscopic plankton floating in the water, the shells crushed by breaking waves, the coral and fish below the surface. I layer these experiences in my mind's eye, pulling forth not a painting of the ocean, but of my experience of the ocean.

 My paintings consist of multiple layers of acrylic paint, oil pastel, soft pastel, crayon, and pencil. I work on unprimed wood panel, where the hard surface and raw wood offers resistance to my energetic mark making.

Through experimentation, I discovered that adding layers of unintentional marks allows my subconscious to participate in creation. I frequently turn the board upside down and make marks without thinking, letting the painting tell me what it needs to become.