In this body of work, figures, household objects and architecture push and shove, jockeying for space. Images of daily life pile up and become entangled. In these prints, drawings, paintings and mixed media works, dense visual fields record the artist’s observations of how human beings interact and affect each other. The urgency of expressing these relationships is embodied in the vigorous use of materials and the intuitive quality of the mark-making.

Life’s stuff, both the physical evidence and the emotional baggage we all carry, is the raw material of this art. It sees the world psychologically: inner experience insists on making itself known. At the same time, the work is a way to make sense of the world, and of the ever-shifting balance of chaos and order in both our private and social lives.

The layering of image and material is critical in these creations. Paint or other media are layered, letting color and images show through in places, allowing the materials to build up in others. Images are continually moving and bumping into each other, causing an action and reaction on the part of the second image.  Bits of the background emerge, suggesting the past and the passage of time. The surface becomes visually energized with the presence of dissonant layers.

The process of this work is both immediate and subject to considerable change. At times, a piece will begin with an idea that evolves into something quite different. Or it may begin with no idea at all, and the pencil or brush is used like a divining rod. When a composition has tipped into chaos, a semblance of order is created by defining certain shapes, or repeating a specific image in regimented formations.

This work uses humor and metaphor to engage the vagaries and challenges of being human. The scuff marks in the work imitate the marks we leave behind. These are pictures of happy intimacy, and of the complexity of finding the right kind of fit with people and work.