Statement
I paint from emotion. To me emotion is the most specific and authentic thing one can have in a work of art. My work is also rooted in aesthetics. But this doesn't just mean a nice a picture that goes over the couch.
Photo by Jean-Philippe Lange
Color is my chief concern - color to make light, and color as feeling. Often, colors have a "sound" for me. They come alive through their particular combination on a canvas, just as an assembly of notes in a piece of music creates a theme. I insist on finding the exact colors that I mean. I am not satisfied until I do. I paint directly - out of doors. But I don't believe there is one truth to the light and color that is there, rather it is a light which I sense for myself as I paint.
Rhythm is also essential to my work, the way one form or line leads to another. I'm selective about the materials that I use; the type of pencil, the paper, the quality of canvas. Sense of touch is crucial for me to find a rhythm.
I'm not so interested in nature as much as in what I have to say about it. The place I am in plays a role, but my priority is the feeling that a painting suggests. Bonnard described it this way: "a sentiment that holds the wall." This says it pretty well for me.