My art schooling began when I was a little girl with dance, violin and piano. In later years commercial art, photography and extended studies of calligraphy added to my repertoire of creative endeavors. In the late 80’s, two profound life experiences became the foundation to my personal style of painting. One was the introduction to Zen Brush Painting as a way to loosen my tight calligraphic hand; and the second was a life challenge that catapulted me into therapy.

Alongside the therapy process (1989-1991) of unlocking buried emotional, mental and spiritual pain, I continued to experiment with the “no-mind” Zen brush painting method. Painting oversized, gestural sweeps of calligraphic brush movements not only loosened my calligraphic hand, it also worked as a release technique to help me get out of my head and into free movement. The process was euphoric. A state of spiritual reverie independent of thought or analysis.

Following the “no-mind” when approaching my work, I become a witness, watching with anticipation as brush movements and color combinations manifest themselves on a blank canvas. It’s truly an authentic experience of the magic and wonder of letting go and letting God.

High polymer acrylics are hand mixed on the pole barn studio floor. Most canvases exceed eight feet in length. Oversized brushes, Sumi and/or large brush tools are selected as a vehicle between the canvas, God and myself. Layers of colors (acrylic, enamel and/or Sumi Ink) are added like watercolor washes, drying in the sun after each application. For the canvases that stay in the studio for a year or more, they become transformed even more so with additional layers of color upon color. Without losing sight of the initial ‘laying on’ of colors, new hues and images continue to emerge. I call this process - the risk of losing it all,  in order to have it all. It simply is (for me), a risk of letting go of the best painting, in order to receive better yet. As in art, it is, as in life.