Artist’s Statement

I am fortunate to live in a beautiful, mostly rural area – southeastern Connecticut, with many intriguing vistas. The colors and shapes surrounding me practically beg to be portrayed on canvas, while the ever changing weather makes each painting a fresh challenge. My aim is not to paint the “picturesque”, but rather to illuminate the ordinary and everyday scenes around us. Paradoxically, I am both trying to portray the “timelessness” of the moment, as well as capture the fleeting sense of a single moment in time.

For me, however, it’s not just about getting it down on the canvas, not just about getting the right brush strokes or the color just the way I want it. Communication is also an integral part of the painting experience for me. It is very important to me that my paintings speak to the viewer about an experience that they have had, some cherished moment in a special place, and that my painting becomes a part of their memory of that time and place. The love that I brush onto the canvas then becomes a part of them.

In many ways, that is the appeal of cake design as well. Not only is it an artform, but the love I bake into making and decorating each cake, becomes even more directly a part of the person that eats my creation. I know no greater privilege than this.

This amazing journey that I am on is, to my good fortune, blessed with many great companions. I am so thankful for my wonderful family, my dear friends, and outstanding teachers, all of whom continue to inspire me with their beauty.

Nothing
In the world
Is usual today.
This is
The first morning.

Izumi Shikibu (974-1034)