For most of my life I’ve taken photographs, and my artistic work began with showing my photography. As the sophistication of digital cameras and tools has increased, I’ve developed an ongoing series of photographic montages and digital compositions. About ten years ago I integrated printmaking into my art practice, often using etchings or monotypes as parts of more complex pieces. More recently I’ve added abstract painting as another element in my mixed-media art.
My work centers around color and place, with a strong graphic component as well. In my photography, color has always been a magnet, pulling me toward ribbons in a shop window or two pears on a painted plate. And my fascination with places has led to an exploration of how to express the sense of a city or a patch of woods by combining my images with other information about that place, such as an antique map or a fragment of handwriting.
As an artist, I sometimes think of myself as a prospector, digging among the images and memories I’ve assembled over the years and following my curiosity to learn and dream about places I have yet to visit. I try to hold those feelings of discovery and inquiry as I create each mixed-media work, weaving together my photographs, painted surfaces, and bits of maps, old pages, or even wax.