I am a magical realism painter with a focus on figures, hybrids, whimsical, and the metaphysical. Life as it is and life as imagined. I explore dreams, meditations, and the cosmos. My studio, I have come to understand, is a work in progress, sort of like a provocative daydream. I seek to discover the soul and spirit of what I am engaged with, making visual narratives about life in the now moment. In my work as a channel/healer, I often experience people in the most intense times of their lives, both in pain and joy. I have learned to draw upon this, creating narratives reflecting personal growth in my paintings. I am interested in the complexity of mysticism, spirituality, healing, and otherworldly explorations. I share stories about my personal life experiences, which can remind me that my work is a visual diary. I am inspired by Guillermo Lorca, Odd Nerdrum, and John William Waterhouse, who seek to tell stories within their art. And finally, I am forever inspired by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Berthe Morisot.
Rather than subscribe to a particular icon, subject, ideology, or style, I prefer not to be limited. I start with large brushes, allowing for a free-form “gliding” over the canvas. In that way, it’s easy to feel that my process is like an open-eye meditation. I point my brush in the direction to capture the essence, the soul of my subjects. Perhaps to give the viewer a sense of connection, a sense of timelessness, to enter the art and be part of it. I like to think of what I do as outrageous, spontaneous play with the Unseen, to make the Seen. I am in constant dialogue with the muse to discover what’s next, to listen. In that way, my work feels less controlled.
In my work as a healer, I work with clients in a myriad of ways with the idea of shifting energy. These energies are the ones that are no longer in operation, per se, but are still being carried around. In this body of work, my focus was to create and paint much like a visual diary. We are all ready at some time to Move On. The paintings start small, with each shift of energy, the color palette changes, as does the canvas size. I chose to work with the idea of a house as represented in this series as what we are intimate with. In painting #1, we see a female who is trapped and or has outgrown the current situation. In painting #2, the figure has moved out of the given situation, but her eyes are closed. In painting #3, we see a sense of Spirit acting as Guide with movement taking place, a willingness to leave the former reality. In painting #4, first feelings and sensations of growing, healing, self-love, and passion returning to the self. In painting #5, this is where the transformation now begins. Darker energies transform into colors; the heart chakra is shown on the main figure with the idea of pink and green, as this is the healer now working with inner selves. In painting #6, moving towards freedom, she has her hand on the house; she's got a handle on it. In painting #7, she feels lifted by love, and in the last painting, she is now on top of it all. Total freedom and connection with the Light. I have named this series Movin' On.
