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My Story
My Inspiration
My Process
When I was a very young child, well before I began kindergarten, I thought of myself as an artist. While on family vacations at the seashore, I remember entertaining anyone who happened to stroll by me on the beach with my larger than life drawings, using whatever materials that were lying nearby to create bold marks in the sand. I disti
When I was a very young child, well before I began kindergarten, I thought of myself as an artist. While on family vacations at the seashore, I remember entertaining anyone who happened to stroll by me on the beach with my larger than life drawings, using whatever materials that were lying nearby to create bold marks in the sand. I distinctly recall thinking that this was what I was born to do. Becoming an artist wasn’t a conscious decision, it was just who I was.
Fast forward several years to New York City, where I studied Illustration at Parsons School of Design. My career after graduation took a few interesting twists and turns, starting with a brief stint working at a Toronto art gallery, followed by several years as a retail business owner and as a teacher. I have since circled back to my childhood passion of creating art on a daily basis in my "wee studio nook" by the lake, and fully embracing the artist life.
Life-long learning and being connected to a thriving art community are hugely important to me. I am an active member of California artist Nicolas WIlton's Art2Life Academy and a 3 time participant in his Creative Visionary Program. As well, I have participated in workshops from other notable artists, including Mark Eanes and Bibby Gignilliat. My next art adventure will be in New York City to attend a workshop with Los Angeles based abstract artist Rob Szot.
You can find me every Tuesday on Instagram Live where I cohost "No Brush Required" with fellow Canadian artist, Tamara Grand. We interview artists from all over the world and engage in meandering conversations about all things arty.
My Process
My Inspiration
My Process
Technically, I’m a mixed media artist, which means that I use a variety of materials to layer and build history on the surface of each painting. Most pieces contain a mix of acrylic paint, wax pastels, graphite, collage ephemera, monotypes, painted papers, image transfers, and most recently, vintage papers from old books and periodicals.
Technically, I’m a mixed media artist, which means that I use a variety of materials to layer and build history on the surface of each painting. Most pieces contain a mix of acrylic paint, wax pastels, graphite, collage ephemera, monotypes, painted papers, image transfers, and most recently, vintage papers from old books and periodicals. I like to keep my hand out of my work as much as possible, so I use a number of different tools to make marks, ranging from silicone wedges, squeegees, palette knives, oversized brushes, brayers, sharp pottery tools for scraping and drawing, shop towels, and even sandpaper to apply paint, to name just a few.
Every painting that I make begins with play. I never know where a piece is headed, which keeps my studio practice fresh and unpredictable. One of my goals as an artist is to keep exploring and pushing my limits, whether that be with materials, scale or with new techniques.
As an abstract artist, I paint what I feel, not what I see. Memories are extremely important to me, as are the emotions associated with experiences, both past and present. Music is an integral part of my studio practice. Picking a playlist is the first thing that I do before I reach for my paints and other tools. I love music that evokes a strong emotional response, such as soundtracks to films or music that I listened to during different periods of my life.
Every painting is built up of several layers, which become gradually more refined as the piece evolves and takes shape. Collage is often integrated, along with paint and other media, covered up, then sanded back to excavate those under-layers. This process is repeated multiple times. Once completed, each artwork is sealed with gloss medium and varnish to protect and intensify the colour, followed by a layer of hand-buffed cold wax that creates a beautiful encaustic-like patina.
My Inspiration
My Inspiration
My Inspiration
I live right beside Lake Ontario in the heart of downtown Burlington. The windows in my studio space look out on a sweeping vista of sky, water and all the urban elements that make up this vibrant neighbourhood. My palette is often influenced by the colours that I see with a mix of natural hues, highly saturated pigments and the weathered
I live right beside Lake Ontario in the heart of downtown Burlington. The windows in my studio space look out on a sweeping vista of sky, water and all the urban elements that make up this vibrant neighbourhood. My palette is often influenced by the colours that I see with a mix of natural hues, highly saturated pigments and the weathered stone neutrals of the local architecture.
When describing my work, I talk about the powerful interplay between wildness and precision that draws me to abstraction, much like the mix of the natural and urban landscape in which I live. There is an exhilarating energy that happens when these two opposites coexist.
My environment definitely influences the kinds of marks that I make on the surface of my paintings. I’m intrigued by the grid-like patterns created by windows, concrete and metal that I see on the high rise buildings near me. I’m especially sensitive to edges and transitions within a design, mixing high contrast value shifts with subtly nuanced areas, incorporating these differences within a piece. Nothing pleases me more than a surgically precise edge placed alongside wildly gestural brushstrokes or blurred passages.