I think it is very important as an artist to continue to change and grow, to move in new and perhaps different directions. Sometimes an event can change your life. Sometimes you meet a stranger or experience a new place and that can have an effect on how you see the world and what you want to say in your work.

What is a personal style? Galleries want to see a body of work that is “consistent”, and reflects continuity. Yet, at what point does a series or a repetitive body of work become tiresome and repetitive?  And when does an artist decide they have exhausted the theme?  

For a long time I labored over changing my personal style. I enjoy the outdoors, love to be out in the woods hiking or sitting by the ocean just watching the waves. I like to draw and paint while I am in the landscape but also like to take photographic references too and work on paintings in the studio. I enjoyed making this kind of art but I was looking for something different.

With a strong background in art history, I often study other artists’ work, from ancient to contemporary. With this knowledge, a greater understanding of technique, concept, and message is acquired. The technique of Titian or Rembrandt, the rich surface of Turner or Van Gogh, the delicate simplicity of O’Keeffe inspires me.

For some, making art is more work than play. Art making can be frustrating. The work has to look just right, the way we see it already completed in our heads. Feeling stifled, it was time to take a new direction. I began working in mixed media. It is lots of fun finding ways to create these new mixed up pieces of work. Beginning with a blank surface; I paint a background that relates to photographic images, scraps of works on paper and found objects. Repainting and collaging complete the mixed-media images. I also continue to enjoy creating representational art.