Artist Statement

I paint my personal experience of the lands in which I live; what I see and what I feel. The cloud pieces represent the beginning of the cycle of life in the New Mexico environment that all my work refers to. The spring monsoons bring the first rains after a long winter – they replenish the earth and bring forth life from the ground. The rivers swell as these pregnant clouds let loose sky-sweeping storms and the acequia ditches flood. The acequias bring water to wild flowers and farms which start to bloom and grow. The colors in the burgeoning flowers and fields reflect, in brilliant hues, the subtle colors that dance across the sky and within the spirit of the massing clouds. Each season offers up its soul - manifest in varying hues and intensities. Spring’s brilliant colors eventually transform to the softer, subtler shades of fall.

This body of work is very much about the spirit of life in water- clouds are transcendent sprits and rivers carry their life. Water holds color and light and nourishes our environment with it. It nourishes and excites and soothes me as I hike through and meditate amid these rangelands and bosques. I feel as though I am a constant witness of miracles. By painting this glory and the emotions I experience in the landscape, I hope to bring that energy and that soulfulness to each canvas so that it communicates the reverence I feel for these living lands. It’s especially important at this time when we truly must cherish and protect and be thankful for the natural environment; it nurtures the life around us, and the life within us.