| I have an emotional connection with dogs that compels me to make them the primary subjects of my art. I have drawn and painted still life, landscapes, human subjects, and other animals, but my fascination with the process intensifies when I include dogs in my compositions. They have come to mark every piece, as image metaphors for my existence. Usually they are nestled in scenes of quiet intimacy. The compositions are designed to attract the viewer with bold color, and to lead the eye around the picture plane, revealing details of pattern and layered texture.
Intensity of color is crucial to me. I want it to be wild, an emotional force that is both expressive and decorative. Soft pastel is where I find the most intense color, as the pigments are nearly pure and any binding agents are kept at a minimum. Oil paints are also fast becoming a favorite medium, especially those with alkyd binders, as they usually dry in a day or two, thus allowing a build-up of texture without the muddiness that can come with working wet on wet. Naturalistic color does not interest me very much, as it never seems as exciting as the color I imagine when I envision transforming my photographs and sketches into a finished piece, merged with textile patterns and objects of daily living with my dogs.
Texture is important to me as well, for its depth and richness. In the pastel pieces, I have built layer upon layer of soft pastel, using acrylic matte medium to seal each one before scumbling a new layer of color on top, resulting in a veritable encrustation of color. Usually it takes ten or more layers before I am satisfied with the color load. The only shortcoming of this pastel technique is the necessity of framing under glass, which separates the viewer from an intimate examination of the texture. Thus I aim to create an interesting impasto texture with oils as well, as seen in the Red Studio, Blue Duchess, and others.
At any rate, it is my hope that viewers will find my paintings beautiful, that they will linger over them, and that the pleasure I find in the dogs will resonate. I expect to continue producing work that includes dogs, as I feel I have found a certain passion with this, and as long as the process holds my interest, I will persist in it. Thank you for visiting my web site.
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