ARTIST STATEMENT

Painting is a form of meditation for me, a way to release from hypnotic thinking, like creating a mandala. I like to work with watercolor and enjoy the "almost nothing" nature of the medium. I find watercolor painting to be a process of discovery and revelation rather than a construction, and this agrees with my spirit and keeps me humble. My rocks and plants and trees and paths emerge out of the initial washes and brush marks, and I simply help them to manifest in the picture space. I try to achieve a level of detail that connects to that bright, complex clarity of nature that fills our hearts whenever we pay attention, that rewards a more careful look, that constantly reminds us that this wonderful world is still full of mystery, delight and wonder and that all life is incessant, vulnerable, unquenchable, and just plain real.

BIOGRAPHY

I studied fine art at the Sheffield College of Art and Design in Sheffield, England, focusing on conceptual art and minimalist constructions, graduating with a B.A. in 1977. I was a co-founder of the Yorkshire Art/Space Society, a non-profit charity providing work space for working artists in the Sheffield area. I moved to the U.S. in 1978 and managed a small arts center (The Oswego Art Guild in Oswego, New York) for two years, and later worked as an Exhibitions designer at the Binghamton University Art Museum. I then obtained a master's degree in Advanced Technology, specializing in Systems Science, and have worked in technology, mostly education-related, since that time. I am now returning to painting, working mostly with watercolor on Claybord and paper and also using oil on canvas, pencil, and pen and ink.