FAQ

What type of paints do you use?

I use acrylic paint and on some pieces I also use a bit of oil pastel. I have a giant stash of all kinds of brands ranging from cheap craft paint to the high-end professional acrylics. I sometimes even use old house paint as a base layer! Every brand of paint, and even paints within a specific brand, can behave differently and I try to use their various properties (coverage, opacity, dry-time, etc.) to my advantage in the painting process.

How do you get started on a painting?

I never begin a painting with an end result in mind. Even if I tried, it would never work out for me! I paint intuitively, which is a fancy way of suggesting I paint whatever I’m feeling in the moment. My first marks on the paper are usually just a scribble of graphite and a spritz of water to activate it and get it all runny and interesting. Sometimes I’m deeply connected to the paper or canvas and the conversation we’re having moves me along with my color selections and mark making. Other times I might be listening to a podcast or music and something there is subliminally affecting what I’m putting down. I also rarely finish a painting in one session, and you can imagine that my mood or focus changes from day to day or moment to moment, and that often shows up on the canvas.

How do you know when a painting is finished?

Leonardo da Vinci said “Art is never finished, only abandoned”. That about sums it up for me! The beginning stages of a painting are very free and fun, nothing I do has risk because most of what I lay down will end up being covered by future layers, shapes and marks. I paint very quickly in the beginning and I don’t stop to make decisions, I just get paint on the canvas. I know that I’m getting close to “something good” when my pace starts to slow down, I can feel my body get a bit more tense and I start to question every next move. Taking a lot of breaks at this stage can help - to just sit and stare at the painting from across the room, waiting for it to tell me what to do. When I get to the place where I’m afraid to touch it because I’ll “wreck” it, that’s when I know it’s finished (or simply abandoned!)

What advice do you give to someone who is choosing a piece for their home?

When people step in to my art fair booth I sometimes hear “these are so pretty but they wouldn’t look good with my furniture”. Art doesn’t need to match your sofa! Yes, my artwork is very colorful, bright and happy, and that is exactly why it will look fabulous no matter where you hang it! I think some people are afraid of abstract art - they are more comfortable with landscapes or still lifes. I think abstract art is an amazing conversation piece and it’s going to look different to you every time you walk in to the room. If you’re not 100% convinced, try purchasing a small piece of abstract art and hang it in your guest bathroom. There isn’t a whole lot in that room that it has to “match”, and just wait for the complements to pour in!

Do you have any prints available of your work?

Yes! I have a limited number of paintings available as prints. I hope to be able to add to the list of available prints as time allows. Keep checking here or contact me if you have questions about prints.