Artists Statement
Georgia O’Keeffe: “To create in any of the arts takes courage.”
To me painting is not a “hobby,” it is not easy, it is not “fun,” (although sometimes it can be).
Approaching a blank canvas is like beginning an unknown journey, with pitfalls, challenges and unexpected surprises; some of them “happy surprises,” some not.
I call the process “paintstaking.”
I don't paint the typical California beach, ocean, surf scenes, as I think they are overdone. My paintings reflect what I see as the real California, places that are not often painted.
Due to the architectural geometry, arial perspective and inclusion of portraits and figures, my “Roadways” and “Today’s World” series’ are especially complex and challenging.
Many of my paintings are local, including “Van Ness Ave, Santa Cruz,” which is the street I live on, and was one of my first “Location” paintings. “Downtown Santa Cruz” is my candy colored version of my town’s downtown, where five streets converge. (The geometry of the crosswalks was especially challenging to get right!)
The Davenport paintings are of a town about 10 miles from Santa Cruz. It’s a place I often go to, both to eat at the iconic restaurants (the RoadHouse and the Whale City Bakery) and to hike down from the Bluffs to a path by the ocean. I like the small town feel.
My “Hidden Valley” landscape paintings are of a lovely valley that is only seen very briefly while driving on CA Highway 1 between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz.
As many artists know, you can fudge landscapes and still lifes, but if you are painting human beings, especially at all realistically, one can spot inaccuracies immediately. That’s why I have studied, (9/hrs/week during 2020), and continue to study figures and portraiture so they can be incorporated into my paintings.
I intend my paintings to pose questions for the viewer; figuring out what may come next?
(As illustrated by the Arrows in many of my paintings), and to evoke a sense of recognition or deja vu, whether or not one has actually been to these places.
