statement // what I do

I paint with what Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel called “radical amazement” -- that is, with a deep sense of wonder and abiding beauty. Each of my works is a meditation on the process of its making, an ode to the joy and possibly of painting. 

My current work is bright and just-barely moody, focused and contemplative. I paint abstractly, balancing intense, vivid colors against more subtle neutrals, combining conscious and not-so-conscious mark-marking and layering techniques. I also paint landscapes, real and imagined, and am especially interested in the play of light. 

As I toggle between the intentional, focused work of landscape painting and the more open-ended, looser work of painting abstractly, I get to satisfy reciprocal urges, remaining process-driven, on one hand, while keeping an eye on the outcome, on the other. I’m also able to apply what I learn across genres: Painting abstracts teaches me to create landscapes that are looser, more intuitive and expressive; and painting landscapes allows me to create abstracts that are more credible and compelling.  

For me, painting is a revelation. Shifting my gaze back and forth from what I see “out there” to what I experience “in here,” I learn about my subject -- and myself. As it turns out, when I paint I’m able to both brighten walls -- and to illuminate my own internal, wordless spaces. Painting reveals my most radiant, actualized self. 

My artwork invites viewers to share the beauty and wonder I experience, and in turn, to illuminate their own inner spaces and personal experiences -- and to learn to see with “radical amazement” of their own.