I believe our inner and outer worlds are deeply connected
As an abstract painter I intuitively use colour and shape to tell a story, to impart a mood or feeling .
When I look out my studio window in Spring my field of vision is filled with a landscape burgeoning with aliveness and every shade of green. The sense of joyful anticipation of warmer days fills my heart and my paintings echo those vibrant greens.
When I crave calm, soft pinks and neutrals fill the canvas.
It is my experience that art can awaken our inner wisdom. As an artist this happens as I work. For the homeowner/designer, this happens through the process of choosing work that expresses and nourishes your inner being.
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be." Douglas Adams
I am always curious about people. And I am guessing you might be too. You might wonder who is this person behind the paintings?
I don't know about you, but it's the quirky bits that I find interesting.
Let me share some irrelevant details about myself.
When I was a child my father called every teacher I had “Miss Spink” and every new dress I had was called “a gown”. He made up stories about an imaginary place he called "Candyland. I think I acquired his sense of humour and whimsy.
When I was 15 I met a hippie in a park and at his suggestion read the Tibetan Book of the Dead. That directed my spiritual explorations for quite a few years.
I worked at a candy counter in a department store to pay my rent when I first moved from Winnipeg to the West Coast and after a few days the sweet smell of candy was so intense that I couldn’t eat any. A cruel trick and sad story.
Another rent paying job I had was as a government tax collector (gasp) that I somehow simply fell into. It taught me you can be nice doing anything.
Many years ago I took the Orient Express from Paris to Athens not realizing how long it would take and how thirsty I would be without the proper currency to purchase water. I learned that knowing only one language is a handicap in the greater world.
If we jump to the present moment you will find a few things on my night table: a book by David Hawkins, a sudoku book from the dollar store, a mini book light, and a homeopathic remedy for sleep called Passiflora. You can learn alot about people knowing what they keep close to them in the night.
In my pantry there are tins of sockeye salmon, a jar of organic peanut butter, some salt and apple cider vinegar chips, and a witches pantry of herbs drying on little strings. We are what we eat. And that would be eclectic?
And that probably proves my theory that weirdness is in the details. You can quote me on that.
Where Have They Gone?
My work is in homes from Norway and Scotland to the US, Canada and Singapore. It has appeared in Tricycle Magazine, Buddhadharma Magazine and on the cover of the book “Lotus Petals In The Snow." Two small works are in the Postal Art Collection of The National Museum of Canada.
