Statement

I paint to understand and show the dynamics of liminal change that I see and feel in the diel cycle of sunrise/sunset, mid-day/mid-night and the seasonal transformations that are marked by equinox and solstice.

Liminal change can be seen, experienced and marked in our landscapes through the changes in light and colour and the passage of time. Change cannot happen without the flow of time. As I paint, I want to quiet the ticking clock, pause time and capture the moments of transition that we see each day.

My goal is to create paintings that resonate with the special character of liminal places, especially the horizon, that in-between place where land and sky appear to meet. There is a steadiness and comfort knowing the horizon will greet the sun no matter the chaos or pace of change in our everyday lives. There is power in that understanding which I cannot ignore.

Horizon is the place of betwixt and between earth and sky. It is a place where change happens as thresholds are met and crossed. For me the horizon symbolizes possibility, opportunity and exploration.

I see a structure to the horizon. I watch it cut the landscape panorama in half. Or see it rise to the crest of a mountain or dip low to ring the bowl of a valley. Horizon can be “up front” with a feeling of closeness which I experience here on the Vancouver Island as tree and mountain horizons push and crowd me, forcing my vision and thoughts inward, tight to my body. Horizons can also be “out there”, away from us, far in the distance, so the world feels and seems out of reach. As my practice grows, I will spend time painting on the prairie where there is a sense of drifting, almost floating, of being untethered without my familiar hand holds of huge trees and high mountain ranges.

In the horizon's light I see hope and the promise of a better tomorrow and in the horizon's darkness, the future may be obscured but it is not lost.