Statements

The Gypsy

I moved a lot as a child –was aware at an early age that I was looking at people and places in a larger way than that of my friends. House trailers were the trend that satisfied post-World War II wanderlust. My father was determined to follow Route 66 and what ensued were circus and rodeo performers, traveling magicians, amputee war vets, Indians (hired by my father off reservations to help build our houses), ranchers with hay lofts and even and probably most importantly, movie stars into my imagination’s repertoire.

I was an old traveler at age twelve, when I landed in a small provincial town in Michigan. Having never felt settled, I tried to make sense of my universe by making small villages in the dirt.

I continue to travel and I like to paint away from home part of the time – it gives me a distance or removal that allows me to access that larger perspective of the world and also to get a clearer look at myself. Working in Europe gives me a feeling of having ancestors.

Perhaps because of my eccentric travels at a young age I have a need for the ambiance of roots, a quiet neighborhood, calm and private but not remote, with tall trees and gardens. Contact with my family gives me that, too. When I'm coming to this place of safety, I can go to my studio 20 minutes away and re-enact my own internal drama on paper or canvas. The language is often abstract.

Arena as Place

I'm interested in places, places in the world and in time, places in the head, places with physical dynamics. The Arena is a symbol of this human condition, from bloodshed to marketplace to music. The voice such as is in the opera is as human as it gets and is really a hopeful evolution.

When I am painting I imagine myself inside the arena. It becomes a container where I can gather up my interior workings and let them out on paper, or on a panel stapled to the wall. Sometimes the images turn out to be recognizable, but often the shape is very abstract, but there is usually the same reference point.

Perhaps because of my eccentric travels at a young age I have a need for the ambiance of roots, a quiet neighborhood, calm and private but not remote, with tall trees and gardens. Contact with my family gives me that, too. When I'm coming from that place I can go to the studio and let it rip!