Artist Statement

An incorrigible doodler of eyes since an early age, I am interested in painterly and expressive responses to the intricate landscape of the iris and the effects of light, both on it and as seen through it. My work is informed by fractal imagery, iridology, and iris recognition technology; mandalas; the paintings of Francesco Clemente, Ross Bleckner, and Georgia O'Keeffe; the geometric explorations of Ken Noland's Circles and Jasper Johns's Targets; and the works of many contemporary artists.

By limiting my imagery to an easily recognizable universal image, I am free to explore processes and materials. The glossy oils on matte Mylar supports create a rich and interesting contrast of textures that capture the fluidity of the eye and the semi-translucence of the cornea. I work playfully wet into wet, dropping pigments mixed with mediums on loosely painted rings or coronas of wet oils. These drops create eyes within eyes and evoke both images of light spots and cellular reproduction. I use brushes to create striated areas or to remove paint.

My body of work, called Eyescapes, is an attempt to capture the complexity of the eye in a creative and playful manner so that the viewer can look at the eye with "new eyes".