I make drawings and paintings that dissolve the perceived boundary between humans and nature. I want to complicate the perception of plants and animals as “other” by literally seeing myself within what I depict. My works often describe major life events seen through the lens of nature. They range in size from 5x7 inches to 5x7 feet.
I find the unusual in the everyday visually compelling, especially if it involves overly sentimentalized subjects such as flowers or nature more broadly. My work offers another perspective that, to me, more accurately reflects the complexity of living.
When I was starting a family, I made drawings of hybrid creatures, half animal, half woman, that offered an empowering mythology of motherhood. Later, my drawings depicted anatomical forms surrounding young children as they navigate childhood beyond parental protection. I became increasingly interested in botanical structures, making large charcoal drawings that intertwine plants and facial features into abstracted forms that conflate the internal and external.
More recently, I have rediscovered oil painting. My love of 17th century artists influences my use of chiaroscuro and dark backgrounds. Nodding to this tradition also intends to elevate the common plants depicted. The sensual, viscous, fragile, prickly, shameless drama taking place along a hiking trail or in my backyard inspires me. Observing growth, decay, and rebirth, I confront my own mortality.