Having lived most of my life in the west, the plains and mountains of Montana or the desert of Arizona, my focus in art tends to be about place – about natural landscapes, and increasingly, about the people and animals who have lived close to the land over time. That doesn't mean that I am not attracted to other places. However, I know that my passion for life is tied to the wide open, and the circle of life that becomes evident when you get away from the city.
I am struck by our expanse of sky, the shadows moving across the landscape, the power of a summer storm. I love watching our horses race over the hill, the deer grazing in the field, or the hawk chasing the eagle through the sky. I appreciate, and am sometimes humbled by the journey the seasons require of us all. It is these things that have shaped me. They sometimes leave me in awe. It is to these things I am drawn as an artist, and to the many stories.
As a teenager, my significant Father figure was a Native American man, my Mother’s partner, who educated me to a degree about the art and customs of some of the Native peoples, and about their reverence for the land and nature. I’m sure that experience contributed to my having an appreciation of those things today.
I have affinity for the women’s lives along this path I’ve chosen. My recent focus has been to paint western women – cowgirls, my friends - the strong spirited, hard working, independent women that you seldom hear about as their lives are not the glamorous ones.
I am also captivated by the Native American women; by their celebration of life as expressed in their traditional clothing and various art forms, and by their emotional and spiritual connection to the natural world. These are things I find compelling as a person and as a painter.
Of course I am always working toward bettering my technique and my understanding of the painting process. There is really so much to know. I hope to become more adept at telling a story simply and powerfully. When planning my paintings, I find that I am drawn to story and am looking for the emotional core within. My wish is that my composition will cause the viewer to pause and reflect on the moment I’ve chosen, stepping outside their own perspective to see it from another’s point of view.
