Artist Statement

In 2011, after a 15 year gap in my career from making art, a death in the family was the catalyst that prompted me to once again pick up my pencil. The first series was a familiar one: the beloved oak tree of the South which I had drawn since I was first taught the skill in 1972. I have always loved art history and, seeking inspiration, I began looking at other artists, eventually discovering the work of Graham Sutherland. A single detail in one of his drawings set me off down the trail of reinterpreting/digesting/reassembling his and others’ works. The original source of inspiration often gets completely lost in the new work but the concept remains intact. I spin and riff off of others’ ideas and by doing such, the viewer and I gain more insight to the original work while experiencing something altogether new. I have so far used A. J. Drysdale (the Live Oak series), Graham Sutherland (The Sutherland Project and The Figure), Picasso (Equus), Constable's cloud studies (Painting a Whisper), Manet (the Olympia series) and Velasquez (the Infanta Margarita series).

An important part of my drawing practice comes from the story about Rauschenberg erasing a de Kooning drawing. I loved the idea that something else was on that sheet of paper: pre-existing images, ghosts of other hands, total mystery. Some drawings may have up to 4 drawings on the page that I have erased; sometimes all that is left is the indentation of the mark which will only be visible when there is shading or a smudge.

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA

Bachelor of Landscape Architecture – 1978

Bachelor of Fine Arts – 1978

University of Massachusetts – Amherst, MA

Master of Landscape Architecture – 1984

Work

New York City Department of Parks

Deputy Administrator of Riverside Park – 1984-1999

World Trade Center

Landscape Architect – 1999-2000

Bette Midler – New York Restoration Project

Landscape Architect – 2000 – 2001

Residential Landscape Architect – 1995 to present

Teaching

New York Botanical Gardens – Bronx, New York

Instructor – 1987 to 2014

Columbia University – New York, New York

Lecturer – 1994 – 2014

Gallery Representation

The Source Gallery

San Francisco, Ca. – 1980 – 1983

Mitchell-Thompson Gallery

New York, New York – 1992- 1994

Hallam

Hudson, New York – 2011- 2014

Carrie Haddad Gallery

Hudson, New York - 2015 to present

Collections

Mrs. Nan Swid

Ms. Mary Stuart Masterson

Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes

Robert and Roby Whitlocke

Henry and Alison Stolzman

Georgetown University

American Express

HBSC

Mariott Marquis – Times Square