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Artist Statement

In my paintings, I use dots as building blocks to create imagery that ranges from minimalist abstraction to complex biomorphic forms that fuse human, animal and botanical elements, exploring themes of unity, impermanence and the cycle of creation. I also use dots to suggest communication or a transmission between forms, finding inspiration from the Michelangelo painting of God Creating Adam.

The inspiration to use dots came from the discovery of beautiful images in the specks of tea grounds at the bottom of a cup. Building forms this way allows me to explore ideas about the true nature of things in the physical world, as opposed to how they appear to our eyes. This exploration is informed by ideas from both quantum physics and Indian philosophy. I am intrigued by the concept from string theory about how everything in the physical world, beyond the level of molecules, atoms and subatomic particles, is comprised of vibrating filaments of energy. Everything is therefore non-solid and impermanent. Similarly, Indian philosophy describes the physical world as an illusion. Inspired by these ideas, I try and suggest that everything is in a continuous cycle of creation and dissolution.

Recurring patterns in nature have always interested me as they suggest an underlying blueprint and my work incorporates the pattern that appears in neurons, tree branches and river networks as a major motif. I also explore the fractal nature of the physical world by creating an ambiguity of scale. I often use circles to suggest a portal into another realm, which could be the view through a microscope or telescope. The dots to me can represent a range of possibilities from seeds to interstellar dust.

My process begins with a pencil drawing. Although I compose my forms mostly out of my head, I often use as a starting point an image from a variety of reference photographs which can include anything from tree branches, mushrooms and neurons to ballet dancers. I then develop a study on paper using watercolor and/or acrylics which I expand into larger scale acrylic paintings on canvas and panel.