Abstract Landscape painter
My paintings and collages are inspired by interactions of the built and natural environment. Photographs and drawings of landscapes ravaged by natural and man made disasters, architectural skeletal structures including abandoned and decaying industrial sites and partially completed bridges form the base of my compositions. These images are juxtaposed with abstract images of roots, trees, and rocks.
Growing up on the Canadian Prairies and spending most of my life in cities, I have developed an enduring fascination with demolished architecture and nature. Harmonizing the tension between serenity and instability I allude to a rupture or disruption in the environment. My work attempts to challenge the traditional way we look at landscape painting as something pristine and untouched.
Collecting materials such as cardboard, sand, earth, twine and newspaper archives my journey through place and time. Newspaper clippings gathered from Winnipeg. Rusted metal found on Industrial sites in Montreal. Sand sifted through my fingers from the beach at Olalla Bay.
Paint and paint additives act as the visceral materials binding memories together. Surfaces are layered and scraped repeatedly. Paint is poured and splattered. My painting process is physical. I move the work from the wall to the floor and back again. A rhythmical ride ensues; where the act of painting and the inner journey coalesce.
As a former dancer, I started painting after being sidelined with a dance injury. I was astounded by the similarities in dancing and painting. Both employ themes such as space, force and shape. Both invest theatrical action with abstract form and color in space. I look for the same qualities in painting as I did in dance. Qualities such as contraction/release and balance/instability through unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed and direction.
