Artist's Statement

I create delicate, textured watercolor paintings of whimsical imagery inspired by landscape, nature and biology. My work is informed by an upbringing in the Palouse landscape of Eastern Washington, time spent abroad in Ecuador and Australia, and a passion for education and community development. I work in watercolor painting using synthetic Yupo paper which allows me to manipulate the watercolor after it has dried to create surface texture. The playful, semi-abstract imagery I use is derived mostly from free-association drawing and “doodling” which brings out specific forms that I repeat and re-mutate over and over. These organic “characters” are very plant and nature-inspired (trees, seed pods, stones) but are often interpreted as both microscopic (bacteria, DNA, or neural transmitters) and macroscopic (constellations, galaxies, or nebulae). The addition of more architectural elements hints at my curiosity about the similarities between the things we build, and the things we are built of.