Artist Statement
Light and its representation have always been at the centre of my painting explorations. Working with multiple layers of glaze allows me to capture a sense of light within the paintings, while building rich layers of colour and depth. Pushing myself to explore the boundaries of paint, I enjoy working on a variety of surfaces including: wood panels, sheet aluminum, and clear acrylic panels. The triptych format allows me to play with the tension of deliberately breaking the linkages between the paintings and allows for a greater sense of depth and expansiveness.
Several years ago I was introduced to images from the electron microscope and was at once captivated by the delicate and complex beauty of single cell life. In the water paintings, I explored the microscopic world that inhabits the oceans. Water has always intrigued me: the play of light, the myriad blues and greens, glimpses of life, fleeting shadows and patterns, and its symbolic association with human emotions.
The frenzy surrounding our fear of new, and old, virus and bacteria strains is an ongoing headline drama. Tiny and delicately beautiful, it is hard to imagine some are so tenacious and potentially deadly. Fascinated by this dichotomy, I created two collections of paintings inspired by images of viruses and bacteria that have been making headlines in North America. In new paintings, DNA has become the inspiration for ongoing explorations. The complex relationship of DNA coding and the unfolding of identity are explored in paintings layered with multiple acrylic sheets.