ARTIST STATEMENT

For years I painted landscape, seeking representation as well as evocation of complex feelings that find their parallel in nature.  Recently, I have been inspired by mathematical means of explaining natural movement, especially the symbols used in the engineering field of flow dynamics.

Through a specialized language that includes terminology, equations, graphs, and parabolic curves, the practitioners of flow dynamics seek to understand and subdue the unpredictable movements of water and air, much as thought subdues emotion, with the purpose of harnessing energy for productive aims.   

In the past, my landscapes referenced the romantic view of Turner, Whistler and Ryder. Now, as the language of flow dynamics finds its way into my paintings, I am aware of a competing language that generates both order and irony.  Because it seeks to measure motion, flow dynamics can serve as a metaphor for measuring emotion.  Yet removed from its original context, fragmented, and juxtaposed with images of nature, its language produces unanticipated meanings that call into question its ability to explain.  What was once my private theatre has now become a visual dialogue, as language and image variously affirm and question our ability to make sense of thought and feeling.