Artist Statement

Combining my career as a research scientist with my aspirations as an artist provides a unique perspective on what and how I paint. Light and shadow patterns observed by the eye create illusions of reality. Physical measurements, perspective and simultaneous contrast can be manipulated to influence how images are interpreted. I look for the underlying structure and patterns of the natural world and the human form.

As an artist observing the local landscape, I face many choices. Must I paint every leaf and rock? What features form the essence? What nuances are essential? By seeing the overall forest and not the trees themselves, a pattern emerges from the complexity. My abstractions are based on common Nova Scotia settings that convey the play of light and shadow on birches, marsh grass, rock and water to evoke familiar sensations from a walk through the woods.

In addition to the physical world,the technologies of machines, energy and communications are prevalent in our society. Technology dominates our daily lives and unconsciously infiltrates our minds. Our escapes and pleasures are growing ever more dependent on technology. We have become both masters and victims of technology.

My figurative and urban paintings address our technological addiction. Does technology free us to be creative or imprison us from the freedom we seek? Are they windows to possibility or barriers of confinement? Does the city offer beauty or brutality, utility or confusion, ease or anxiety? These paintings look at the contradictions created within people and places by modern technology.