About My Art
"With an apple I will astonish Paris"
-Cezanne
Like Cezanne, I hope to astonish my viewer with a unique portrayal of seemingly ordinary fruits and vegetables. Cezanne painted an apple in a way no one had seen before. His inventive use of color and decisive marks have inspired me and are a large part of why I am so drawn to this theme. I am also inspired by the American photographer, Edward Weston. In 1927, he began photographing single objects and illuminating their natural beauty. In his famous image, Pepper, he takes the vegetable out of its original context and zooms in, to help the viewer get an essence of the object. My goal is similar to Weston’s in that I seek to simplify my composition in order to illuminate the natural beauty of the subject. In this way I believe I have taken the traditional still life theme and interpreted it in a more modern way.
I am attracted to the energetic brushwork, color usage, and theme of nature that characterizes the art of impressionist artists like Van Gogh and Cezanne. My work has grown into an expressive form that is full of movement, color, and emotional content. As an art therapist I believe in the healing powers of the creative process. For me, creating these still life oil paintings is enjoyable, liberating, and often stress relieving.