Artist's Statement: 2020 Solo Exhibition

Elsewhere: this is where the images for this small body of work originated. Before COVID-19, before my job setting pivoted to working from home (just 10 feet from my drafting table and easel), before George Floyd, I traveled freely. Wandering elsewhere was a given, a need, an assumed privilege.

I started the process of deciding what I wanted to paint for this show more than a year ago, by ‘harvesting images.’ The subject matter primarily came from trips to New Mexico and Ireland. This time, I could see most of images for the show well in advance, and had identified challenges for myself. Could I communicate the grandeur of rock formations from the Southwest with a small scale? Could I elevate rusty mooring rings to images that would reward repeat viewings with changing insights? Would I be able to make cropped views of roofless ruins feel grand or sacred?

Along the way and with a force to knock me off center, 2020 unfolded. These images have now become bittersweet reminders of places I’ve had the good fortune to visit in the last few years. They serve as hope filled distillations of other times and places. Art making these past months has been a struggle as well as a necessity. I continued to tackle the challenges I set for myself with these paintings, while questioning the value of creating quiet scenes of place and grace.

My hope is that the paintings offer scenes that allow you to pause and exhale.