Sometimes my brushstrokes are intentional and focused; me, my tools and the canvas; at other times I enter a meditative flow, and there is no separation; I am the painting, the painting is me. Each painting has its own story, and as I take the time to get to know it, to feel its heart, the images call out to me, the painting speaks and a poem unfolds. I paint only images and subjects that excite me. There is an obsession in my work to find an energized moment, magnify it larger than life in both size and colour and hold that energy so it invites us deep into its heart. When I was a child I would stand at our hallway mirror pushing my palm against its glass hoping, like Alice in Through the Looking Glass, I could enter an alternate world. I have found that world with my paintings. When I look into the Peony I am enveloped into her petals of peace, or I jump feet first into the noisy world of the lion dance in Chinatown New Year. My work vibrates with bold colour and strong brush strokes. People who see my art say it glows with positive energy and they often claim I must be a very happy person. Generally, I am and I invite you to share that energy, one painting at a time. “Painting is silent poetry, poetry is painting that speaks.” Simondes (500 BC) |
“Art is literacy of the heart.” Elliot Eisner Painting slows me down. Like so many of us, my life is busy and sometimes hectic. My painting time is a meditative and joyful space in a busy and complicated world. When I paint, I flow between the conscious and the subconscious. Through the process of losing myself, I am able to find my painting. |