artist Statement(s)

“I am seeking. I am striving. I am in it with all my heart.” - Vincent Van Gogh

~ On Subject Matter ~

I paint flowers - very specifically cut flowers in containers - because they encapsulate the idea of impermanent beauty. Blooms fade, green turns to brown, and the moment in time comes to an end. There’s a tender vulnerability in that idea that I find bittersweetly beautiful.

~ On Style & Process ~

I often hear artists talk about finding their style. This seems especially troubling to abstract painters. For me style is about making art the way you want to make art – in the way that only you can. No one else makes the marks I make just like I make them. Each of us is a unique individual with a once in the universe spirit propelling us to create. Your style is you.

I’ve discovered that part of my style is not wanting to be locked in to any one particular way of doing things. I like a lot of stuff – different mediums, styles, color palettes, etc. If I want to sign my name in pencil one day and black paint the next, I’m going to go with it. Screw consistency in creation. It could just as easily be called stagnation. My goal at the end of the day in the studio is to be turned on by the experience. All the better if there’s an end product to show for it.

Two things I come back to time and again are color block compositions and raw, emotional line. These two things are at the heart of my process. Playing with color and seeing how different shades either sing out loud or whisper beside each other keeps me curious to come back to the studio. Similarly, mixing in raw, kind of dirty line and taking in the juxtaposition of the stillness or flatness of the color under it gives me a sense of wonder and maybe something that feels like freedom. It’s almost like vandalizing my own work and I love that.

Ultimately, I think the goal is to get to know yourself better so you can get to know your art better. Then you find the joy part of creating something and have a chance to hungrily suck the juice out of it.

- LB