Artist Statement

Each of my paintings has several renditions underneath--each one could stand independently. The stories the finished pieces tell, however, reveal themselves in a lengthy process. I can begin with a concept, a color palette perhaps, or a moment in history where I've shaved my head in disbelief at a political situation, and the best way to express that anger was to slice across the surface with a palette knife in the colors of a shredded flag. People are quick to equate this particular work with Jackson Pollock as if I were naive. But look carefully and you'll notice the splatter is merely there to soften the sharpness of the slice with a filigree. The paint drips down the canvas and then I turn it at that perfect moment. Ultimately, that painting tells the story. Hidden swastikas reveal themselves in ominous foreshadowing. I did not intentionally create them. The process has an intelligence of its own. Another, the most significant piece so far, is horizontal, ultimately it striates the canvas with vivid color, vertically juxtaposing form. It has taken me decades to understand the validity of my work and that I am not the storyteller, merely the conduit.