The memories of my childhood are coloured by a bouquet of flowers. My grandmother’s peonies and wild roses, the pansies she tried to contain, but grew with a mind of their own, and the flowers my dad and I faithfully picked every Mother's day morning.
My first artwork focusing on flowers was a commission in 1997. I was asked to create an oversized canvas full to the brim with irises. A few sketches and an artwork later, a theme had taken root.
The blooms, buds, petals and stems are a means for me to explore form, light and the illusion of movement. Colour plays an essential role in my work; most of my time is spent creating the ideal hue, tint, or tone. Experimenting with vigorous and tender brush strokes as well as the layering of paint allow me play with the intensity and luminosity of the colour, which gives me great satisfaction.
Over the past 18 years I have worked with both oils and acrylics. Lately I have been drawn to acrylic, enjoying the flexibility this medium provides me to explore both the transparency and density of colour.
For me art is a process, one canvas leads to the next. I work my ideas out in the moment through the action of painting working from memory, desire and a love of the medium.
