I have taken the approach that painting is not precious and I select materials that are less traditional.  I never use canvas, I prefer plywood or found wood surfaces so I can physically alter or remove the image in a reductive manner, by sanding or scraping the surface away and reimagining the ghost visage.  I want to work into the layers of paint and the surface of the wood with pencils, tools, and in a literal way, reveal the subject of the painting.

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Day in and day out I present as a cheerful, helpful, friendly person - parts of a life's goal to achieve contentment.  While at the same time I often move away from this public reality toward my struggle to embrace an internal perspective that reveals the emotional layers beneath.  Through that desire for revelation and my artist-mujer-dyke lens, this completed body of work looks for what is beneath the surface. 

 

5.1.2020 - Center on Halsted Exhibition Statement

I have been working on this body of work for the last 4 years.  Working 2 jobs, I set a goal to create 10 large paintings, approximately 48 x 96 inch plywood of people/creatures I love.  Progress had slowed, busy with my jobs, cold or hot garage studio impeding painting opportunities. And, In the midst of this time, a young person I loved died and I began working on several paintings of him, somewhat obsessively, which jump-started the other work. They are by far my most raw and personal pieces to date.

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3.1.2021 - Pandemic Update

COVID-19 lockdown closed the exhibition space at the Center on Halsted 2 months before the opening.  Disappointed, I kept working.  Aching for relationships, friends, family, my Pop passed unexpectedly.  A frigid Arctic snap kept me out of the studio and I took my pencils and drew inside.  When we can gather again, I hope to show these in person.  Until then... 

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​9.15.2021     The COVID-19 pandemic hit.  Cancelled the exhibition and we couldn’t leave our Berwyn compound.  So, studio time increased, every weekend there was time to paint.  I kept the anxiety at a manageable level and started several new pieces of work.  I completed several of the people I was able to connect with on frozen days, outside, with a blazing firepit, scarves, hats, jackets and literal, masks. And then my Pop died unexpectedly, one year ago this week.  And after he died, I worked on a series of drawings and paintings of him. This exhibition is dedicated to him.