Welcome.

Painting is a way for me to be in my body in a sensual way and to experience what I see.

I try to let deeply go – so I can enter a spiritual and/or emotional dimension and share it with you.

I use composition, drawing, perspective, brush stroke, color, texture and rhythm to reflect back most accurately who I am in that expression.   I strive to capture the big picture and the subtle picture.  I want to discover the spirit of life in all things.  I try and find the movement in the subject, risk messing up, experiment with edges- so as to stay true to the subject.

I like to have an expressive range in my paintings.  To express my vision they don’t all have to be clearly defined or fast and expressive.  Some are more representational and others lean towards abstraction.  More of my focus is on authenticity than on style.

When I paint on location, I search for specific compositions.  I am interested in doorways to the horizon, paths, deep shadows and rough textures in contrast to smooth textures.  I play with time.  Sometimes I just try to capture one time of day and at other times I am interested in the change of light and shadow and/or the movement of clouds and grasses.

I go back to the same locations.  I form a relationship with a place as I form relationships with the models who are my subjects.  A place is never the same for me once I paint it and I experience greater intimacy with the people I paint.

Abstract work:
Some of my abstract work comes from seeing abstractions in life.  Other works come from an intuitive process of painting from within.  I play with composition, light, color and form never knowing what comes next.  I find the non-representational paintings to be the most challenging, perhaps because it is all up to me and I want the art to sing like nature does. 

I cannot separate painting from dancing:
For the last seven years or so I have been practicing dance improvisation.  Dancing in collaboration with others is a deep meditation.  It requires me to be internally and externally aware.  When I dance, my body is a paint brush and I am in touch with the other dancers—sculpting and being sculpted.    When I paint I am dancing—improvising with the other dancers—the trees, grasses, light, earth, the images and forms and gestures in my body and in the bodies around me.

Materials:
-I mostly use water soluble oils because I find them to be versatile, easy to clean and less toxic than conventional oils.  They dry to the touch in around 24-30 hours.  Conventional oils can take much longer.  And acrylics dry way too fast for me, often within a half hour.
-My palette emphasizes complementary colors.  The paints start out neatly arranged – kept wet then layers of mess— As a rule I do not use black but instead mix a range of dark colors.
-I use a range of surfaces: canvas, canvas panels, rice paper and/or handmade paper primed with gesso on board, A lot of my paintings have layers of old paintings under them or surfaces that I’ve added a base color besides white.   In general I like some resistance when I work-old paintings and texture provide that.  However some subjects beg for a clean white canvas.

Commissions and Event Paintings:

I am available to paint events including weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and other events.  I create both portraits and landscapes.  Please ask me for more information.

Many of these paintings are for sale. If you are interested in making a purchase or have other questions or comments, please email me.