Artist Statement:

With art everything becomes clear to me. My art reveals my connection to space: past and present. Our natural resources play an important role in that mind-place we call "space." Having "space" is important; space allows you see opportunities and remain open.

Raised in the piedmont of North Carolina among hills and valleys I gained an appreciation of natural places in my youth. Through my landscapes I am able to find "water" by recording my life and transitions.

Making art empowers you to create a better life and become aware of your choices.

That "space" that is there for me to create is both figurative and literal. Creating allows you to find out what you like, and forge a connection. I discovered the "I" in I AM. I returned to "mind-full living" and began the ECO ART landscape series after participating in a plein-air workshop on the barrier island of Folly Beach, SC, know by the locals as "The Edge of America" with its breathtaking long range views, expansive marshscapes and glowing sunsets of the lowcountry, paint brush in hand. It was there that I discovered I disliked the cubicle. Space was far more interesting. What was to follow was participation in numerous exhibitions and juried shows, workshops, a "painting-a-day blog exercise" (where my friends concluded I must be mad or have OCD), and my first solo show in 2008.

Art, after all, is a vehicle to create "inclusion" in your life and exert your independent awareness to conscious living. Art records life. It should be no revelation then that my art is charged with emotion and I hope it reveals a "distilled essence" of what I like. When I create I am filled with emotion, there is no "rational." There is no logic.

In Gallery I, I use color to convey beauty and fragility that natural places provide in my landscape and ecology-based paintings. That inspiration that began at the seashore traveled with me as I recorded the land in different areas.

Like a visual story, all I can wish for is "authenticity" and that my art constantly changes to give forth life-giving energy, movement and inspiration for the viewer. I hope my art inspires you to use your talents. I hope my images remind you of places you have been and moments in your life. I want my art to make you "feel" again- whether it is "calm," 'happy" or just "good." I hope you think "What-if" I tried that? Let's look further.