Artist Statement

I use magic realism to explore narratives involving our relationship to nature, cities and ourselves. How do we and nature fit in or not fit into our social constructs and cities? In my work, nature acts as the soul or life force that is pushed away but always returns.

Growing up near Wrightsville Beach, NC, I created elaborate dramas with my friends and dolls. Now, animals, people, plants, architecture, and objects are all characters in my narrative paintings. My inspiration comes from archetypes, folk tales, poetry, and the magic of everyday life.

I create colorful acrylic paintings where the subjects defy gravity and the traditional picture plane dissolves. The exploded compositions don’t adhere to a linear sense of time, they are a sea of scenes floating by that evolve intuitively and playfully.

Many of my paintings are set at night, a mysterious time when nature can emerge from hiding. The paintings are like stage sets with heightened lighting and colors that glow from within.

“Floating” (2024) is based on my fascination with an old magic catalog. Using visual trickery, women, rabbits and birds become magical, appearing from nowhere or floating above the stage. In my painting, women do not need sleight of hand to be transcendent, they achieve this themselves. Free from the weight of the body, they are supported by nature and, like witches, surround themselves with their “familiars”.