statement

I have felt compelled to paint nearly every day for more than 30 years.  My south facing studio and gardens are a source of constant inspiration: full of light, patterned textiles, glass, ceramics and plants.

Still life subject matter is the major vehicle for expression.  I spend a great deal of time composing a still life and then paint directly from the subject with much careful observation.  The background of the still life is just as important as the foreground in my work.  I use many approaches to make the background interesting and connected to the whole:  including light filled hanging fabrics, bird's eye view point, landscapes and other artist's paintings including my own.   I love the nod to the painters I have studied and admired:  Matisse, Bonnard, Diebenkorn and more.

My passion is for making rich and complex oil paintings through color, light, texture and line.  I strive for paintings where the formal elements are as prominent as the subject matter.    It is important that the paintings are just as interesting from a distance as they are on closer investigation.  This invites repeated explorations and paintings that remain interesting over time.    Abstractions are created by a layered and varied surface.  I use thin washes, opaque layers, transparent glazes, and pastel and charcoal mark making on 300 lb hot press water color paper or canvas to achieve this.

My painting is the result of the combination of steady work, motivation to create and inspiration.  Experience has taught me how to get to that place where the magic of a really good painting happens.

bio

born: 1959, Ontario, Canada

education

Fontbonne University, St. Louis, Missouri, MFA 2010

Fontbonne University, St. Louis, Missouri, MA  2004

Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, BFA 1981

selected awards/honors

77th National Midyear Exhibition, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, Honorable Mention 2013

Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Award 1986

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Poetry of Light and Color, Hammond Harkins Galleries, Columbus, Ohio,  2014

Light and Pattern,  Sherry Leedy Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri, 2014

Light Abstracted,  William and Florence Schmidt Art Center, Belleville, Illinois, 2013

New Works, Gallery KH, Chicago, Illinois, 2011

selected group shows

Flora, Loch Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2014

The Elizabeth Lane Oliver Center for the Arts, Frankfort, Michigan, 2014

Still, Blue - Zeuxis (an Association of Still Life Artists) Traveled to 4 Art Centers, 2013/14

Best of the Contemporaries, Loch Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2013

Selected Collections:

Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, Missouri

Delta Hotels, Toronto, Ontari, Canada

Dupont Canada Inc. Corporate Collection

The Hilton Downtown Collection, Columbus, Ohio

Glaxo Canada Inc. Corporate Collection

Physicians and Surgeons Institute Foundation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Richardson-Greenshields Corporate Collection

Ontario Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation, Kingston

School of Management, University of Toronto

Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri