I make large-scaled mixed media paintings using alcohol inks and materials used in jewelry, such as gold dust and semi-precious gems. Manipulating the pigment across canvases and boards with my own hands, hardware tools and heat dryers, the forms take on unpredictable, organic and richly layered shapes and textures. Alcohol ink is vibrantly pigmented and can't easily be controlled, and so the process of applying the ink to the surface is unpredictable, creating pleasing accidents, coincidences and combinations. The addition of the precious materials, both as a type of pigment, an object embedded in the ink, and as a way of making marks across the surface, enhances the idea of the artwork as a precious object.
Having worked in medicine for many years, specifically with patients whose own motor skills were limited, as well as taking inspiration from the natural landscapes I've lived near, whether in Minnesota or in New Zealand, my paintings explore the relationship between natural forms, and how they are perceived by the viewer; unpredictable but precious, and open to interpretation in the same
