Detail from Finding Home
Detail from Magical Places
Detail from Held Ground
Artist Statement:
Drawing from Formalism, Abstract Expressionism, and Colour Field painting, I focus on the interplay of colour, line, shape, texture, and space. I begin without a predetermined outcome, engaging spontaneously with tools and materials to establish a ground of uncertainty. Through intuition, addition, and subtraction, marks and forms evolve into overlapping planes that carry traces of earlier decisions and discoveries. The painting becomes a dialogue between painter and painting, guided by a call and response between intention and chance.
I am interested in the coexistence of tension and harmony, resolution and uncertainty. Juxtaposition and reduction create visual relationships that move between order and disruption, unity and difference. I am drawn to paintings that feel alive and slightly awkward, with resolved areas alongside those that remain raw, curious, and open. These qualities reflect my understanding of lived experience, where certainty is temporary and meaning continues to evolve.
Although my work is abstract, familiar references to landscape, architecture, and the built environment offer points of entry. The land holds shared and diverse histories, shaped by struggle, resilience, and change. These histories, alongside my own experiences and relationships, inform the work without being directly illustrated. I hope the paintings offer viewers space to pause, reflect, and discover their own connections within the layers.
My work is grounded in Saskatchewan's longstanding tradition of abstraction, and I am inspired by the opportunity to contribute to its continuing dialogue. Through sustained looking, experimentation, and reflection, I continue to develop a visual language that explores the space between abstraction and recognition.
I am motivated and trust in this quote: “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes; Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
Scott Adams