statement

When I was very young, 5 or 6, I thought drawing was the same as using words. Because I found words too difficult and confining to describe my thoughts and emotions, drawing was manageable.  Now as then, things exist inside my head and because I want to see them outside of my head I draw them. But once I bring these things into reality, the image on paper is not exactly the same as the inner vision--it has become something else. I am curious and disappointed by the imperfectness of the real compared with the ideal. I want to honor that imperfection, to savor its poignancy and its beauty.

As an artist whose works transverses different mediums--drawing, printmaking, textile--drawing remains at the heart of my practice. I work within the representational tradition. I am fascinated by the representational element. Objects become carriers for a different intent, one I often do not understand myself until I have worked with the drawing for a while. If I am successful, the viewer understands cognitively the salient differences between real object and illusionary object, and can see them as being complimentary states.

My current work centers on historical maritime maps and nautical artifacts including rope lines. My work is sometimes obsessive--I draw the same subject repeatedly, experimenting with different ways of highlighting or shifting the bond between real object and rendered likeness, but I am trying to describe them in a way that is not illustrative or simply descriptive. I build up gradual layers of marks then scrape and erase, leaving a debris that reveals the history and construction of the form. But the more the marks accumulate, the more evidence of my own anxiety, faulty memories, and things not seen is exposed. So you could say that I am more interested in investigating the gap that exists between the mental image and actual object than describing an object.

I have a cat who both craves affection and fears physical touch. He solicits petting and stroking until he cannot endure the gratification any longer. When bliss overwhelms him, he strikes out and bites just for relief. I draw so I do not have to bite.

bio

born: 1954, Canada

selected solo or two-person exhibits

Détraqué , New Prints, Université Sainte Anne, NS 2012
ARTsPLACE, Lachesis Measure, Annapolis Royal, NS, 2011
Corridor Gallery, Everything you are reading, I have said before, Halifax NS 2009

selected group shows

The Ink Shop, North by Northeast, Ithaca, NY, 2012
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Traditions & Innovation, Yarmouth NS, 2012
Chase Gallery, NS Printmakers, Halifax, NS, 2011
Nocturne, Collaboration on Marginal Road, Halifax, NS, 2009