Introducing the Traces Paintings

New Paintings at Artist Project 2022!

Pool, 24x24", Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas

I think that everything has a gesture–every object, every being, every interaction. It’s a statement of its energy, of what it is. I draw from my personal stories and daily walks in nature to find these gestures, these essential motifs, and translate them into the language of my paintings.

I work in layers of acrylic, graphite and crayon, building texture and depth. Using my accumulated vocabulary of gestures, I make marks on the painting, and then respond to those marks in an ongoing conversation with the work. I experiment and then pause. Risk and then retreat. It’s a process of engagement and distillation, keeping what belongs and letting go of what doesn’t. Events are veiled, overwritten, or later exposed, leaving traces of their passage. Slowly, the paintings build their own history and develop a sense of place.

I THINK WE ARE DRAWN TO THE FEELING OF MEANING THAT THESE MARKS AND TRACES IMPLY, TO THE IDEA THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED HERE, SOMETHING WAS SAID–WAS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO SAY.

The Traces series of paintings has been created since I arrived at my new home near the sea in Nova Scotia. The rhythm of the waves and wind, the cool palette, and the fleeting changes in light and shadow have emerged as the essence of this body of work.

VIEW THE TRACES SERIES

These paintings are on exhibition at the Artist Project Toronto, April 21-24, 2022.