I consider myself a primitivist in that I started art later in life and did not go through a formal art program; rather, I have learned largely through my own artwork supplemented by informal classes. After graduating from college in the 70’s, I began to study painting by copying icons from the Byzantine period. I sought out iconographers in Madison and Boston who knew the traditions of these holy paintings. I appreciated the specific, non-Western style of iconography, with its ordered composition based on the Greek liturgy and its primary, clean colors that were simultaneously bright and deep. I liked the freshness of egg-based pigments with the use of a new egg every time I sat down to paint. Parts of iconography seemed abstract because icons have no shadows; thus, I focused on using certain strokes to make a figure rather than on rendering the full form of a figure.

This style, however, did not give me an option to use my own creativity or follow a more Western tradition. Thus, I began to focus on my drawing skills, learning the techniques of perspective and proportions that challenged me in a way iconography had not. I liked drawing because I could just pick up a pencil and create magic on a piece of paper. I enjoyed the creativity I found in this medium: I could draw from memory or following models, in a realistic or abstract style, based on my feelings or directly on my perceptions of my subject. In drawing, however, I sometimes missed the use of color. For this reason, I returned to painting and sought to blend my enjoyment of color with my creativity. As egg tempera is less common in the Western tradition, I switched to oil paint. I enjoyed this medium for its flexibility and range of possibilities. Its viscosity allowed me to change the painting before it dried, making each work of art more of a process than with fast-drying media such as acrylic. I also loved the rich colors of oil and the mix of smooth and chunky textures, as well as the glazes that could be made by thinning oil paint.

Now, I like to paint landscapes. I enjoy getting outdoors, and I try to incorporate my appreciation of nature and its stillness into my oil paintings. I admire the reverence for land and nature that I have seen in Wisconsin and hope this reverence is apparent in my paintings. I continue to experiment, however, by doing some figure work. I admire the still-life paintings of the Italian Renaissance as well as many Dutch paintings. I aspire to recreate the inspirational feel of these works of art. Recently, I have begun to use photographs as a tool in my artwork. I like to show my work at places of hope, where unique artists gather and work. My goal is to join with other artists to create a more peaceful and spiritual world.