Training at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in figurative and formal traditions inform my work.  This representational skill set is comparable to a good writer's use of lyrics and language to compose strong statements.      The juxtaposition of organic form and hard-edged architectural forms is a recurring theme in my work.  
     Light is a central element to my compositions. I am drawn to the quality of light illuminating a subject more than the objects them selves.  How light divides a space, how the key of light differs from outside to inside and how different qualities of light divide space in the same room captures my attention.     Painting Alla Prima is a rewarding part of my painting process.  When carefully observing a subject directly in front of me each brush stroke becomes a meditative practice.  No matter how loose or abstract a painting may appear it comes from the dialog that happens between what I see and how I respond to it moment by moment.
     I often paint in series.  A literacy program that rewarded young readers for the number of books they read inspired my first series of pear paintings.  The premise was simple: the more you read the better you read.  I challenged myself to paint 100 small paintings of pears with the intention of seeing how this exercise would strengthen my painting skills and noticing how my paintings changed as the project progressed.   Dollhouses and neon lit display cases and their worlds of light  in and around these objects have inspired other series.

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