In my paintings, I try to express a kind of subtle energy, passing thought or a fleeting emotion. I find this is best expressed through patterning, layering and repetition. I am interested in simple spherical shapes, I find they have an organic, expansive and complete quality. These forms allow me to use layers and patterns that help develop the composition and mood of each painting. Through this process the paintings become more emblems of feelings rather than studies on form.
The fresco application allows me to work in different ways. One method is an application of a fresco paste over the entire surface followed by ink washes and layering of shapes of colors in oil paint. A more recent approach has been to use the grain of the wood as part of the composition by masking and cutting out spherical shapes. A fresco application is applied over exposed shapes and then painted or guild. I find the later process more closely aligned with the practice of drawing where the quality of line is drawn with the cut of a knife. Both processes are labour intensive but also challenging and satisfying due to my interest in materials and process itself.