About
Rural Ontario has been my home for most of my life. I love the rolling hills of Waterloo County , the sculptural rocks of the Bruce Peninsula and the cold waters of Georgian Bay. I find peace and solace wandering through this landscape noticing the abstract forms of nature. I like to photograph the abstract shapes I find and it is these images that I use as inspiration for most of my work. I am at my happiest and most peaceful when painting in my studio. It’s a welcome contrast from my work as a physician. I always paint with music on; it’s hard for me to paint without it. I dance around, often singing, adding paint, removing it, drawing or carving into it, adding some more. It is a very organic and spontaneous process for me. I work in a variety of media: acrylic, oil, inks, watercolours. Most of the pieces end up being mixed media largely due to the spontaneous nature of how I work. I rarely start with a fixed colour palette in mind. My colour choices are largely intuitive, but inevitably influenced by nature. I like to paint, (especially at the outset), in a fairly subconscious manner reminiscent of the abstract expressionists, allowing the piece to dictate its own direction. I’m often surprised at the images and figures that evolve. I think it is important to have a beautiful place to escape to, both as the artist and the viewer. If I can transfer the mood/feeling I had while painting to the viewer, then I’m happy
Painting Series
Mixed Media Mono-prints
The mixed media mono-prints are different from the canvas/panel works. They are smaller, more intimate works usually on paper. I start with a glass plate covered in oil paint and then use tools to carve out the image. I then make a singular print on paper and once dry, add the colour, using watercolour or acrylic inks. It’s a great way for me to experiment with images and I often do this before doing the larger works in oil.
Canvas/Panel Works
The large panel/canvas pieces are mostly influenced by the rock formations of the Bruce Peninsula. I make a highly textured base using a mixture of molding paste and gesso and carve into it with my various tools or graphite. It’s at this stage that images often appear, much like they do when you look up at clouds in the sky. I then go back in to the painting and apply the oil paint, trying hard to let the images tell their story