Over the past ten years, the subject matter of my oil paintings has been landscapes in the abstract expressionist style as seen in Refuge, the example provided. Living in Northern California and spending time in the Sierra Nevada mountains has provided ample subject matter. After seeing the exhibition “Matisse to Malevich: Pioneers of Modern Art from the Hermitage,” in Amsterdam in 2010, I was influenced and inspired by the work of these masters in addition to others exhibited such as Andre Derain, Raoul Dufy, Maurice De Vlaminck, and Kees van Dongen. I found their abstract and colorful rendering of subject matter, as well as that of the Fauves, a compelling way to attempt to interpret landscapes in oil.
My joining SCAD in fall of 2022 initiated a life change from a technology executive to an MFA candidate. I no longer need to go along to get along in business and now find myself interested in creating artwork on the topic of women’s agency and power globally during a time of backsliding to a seemingly more systemically patriarchal and nationalistic system of governance. I am reintroducing figurative elements as I explore more activist topics with my work. The Bay Area Figurative movement from the 1950’s and 60’s, such as the work of Elmer Bischoff, Richard Diebenkorn, Nathan Oliviera and Joan Brown, inspire this new work. I am now exploring a Metamodernist approach with a visual feel of saturated hues, calming neutrals and the drama of light and shadow while exploring subjects that show the paradox of beauty in a world with ominous undertones that are frequently breaking the surface of what was a relatively peaceful era.