When I was young, I would play in the woods for hours. Nature acted as a refuge, a place that nourished my imagination. Now that I am older, I paint landscapes to offer a place of sanctuary to myself and my viewers.

I create beauty out of the local and quotidian, exploring my home or wherever I happen to be to find a scene that I can elevate. This act of transformation is a formal process: I choose scenes with strong plays of light and reduce nature’s abundance to the brink of abstraction to bring out its formal qualities. I begin with an analytical value study, which gives me the liberty in the final work to exaggerate the colors. My paintings are composed with neutral colors that I juxtapose with vibrant, saturated colors for contrast and emphasis. My process reveals the special essence of the things around us, creating new ways to appreciate and be proud of what is already there.

While the outside world is a scary place, it is necessary and important to find solace in beauty. Turning toward nature also allows us to turn inward. In this way, my work acts as a restorative balm, offering a site of meditation and calm by creating order and form.