Artist's Statement
My paintings have always been reminders
From the moment I pick up the paint brush until the finished painting is complete – and long after,
as it hangs on the wall – my paintings remind me that we are all made up of our layers; that we get to
choose our perspective in any situation and in our lives; that beauty and hope are possible, even in the darkest times.
Flowers are the ultimate symbol of hope and possibility. The flower bursts forth from a tiny seed, deep beneath
the surface of the earth, buried in darkness, growing through the deep dark soil into the light. Horizons are the ultimate symbol of
possibility and perspective. The sky is vast, the story is ours to write and to tell; we get to choose the way we see the world.
Just as I need the bright pink post-it note on the kitchen door reminding me to bring the book,
the tie, and the brownies, or the blue post-it in my car reminding me to pick up celery at the store –
so too I need the notes on and in these paintings, reminding me about perseverance, patience, and love.
As I was creating these paintings, I had no way to imagine the challenges we would be facing individually,
communally, and as a society in March 2020, and yet the notes on and in these paintings feel more
relevant today than they were when I painted them.
I believe in hope and possibility and perspective with every fiber of my being, and still I need reminders –
now more than ever. We all do. “Do not stop, persevere, go on.”