Artist Statement

As artists we are always making our own worlds. We’re very aware of what’s going on in the news cycle and so we make these realms to show our viewers that there is more. When I painted these recent works, my peony garden was frozen deep under the snow. I want to remind the viewer that we are able to create gardens from paint. We can conjure flowers, too.

The peonies are all from my own garden and I want the viewer to feel the same elation that I do when they emerge and bloom. I want the viewer to feel the light and the heat on the flowers, the strong shadows, as well.

There’s the quotation by Rumi, where he says:

“Beauty surrounds us,
but usually we need to be walking
in a garden to know it.”

My hope is that these floral expanses open up a spaciousness in the viewer where they might imagine themselves walking in a garden. The paintings will act as a reminder that beauty surrounds us.