ARTIST STATEMENT

I’m an artist, living and working in Los Angeles, California.

Art making keeps me centered, open-hearted, and connected to the world around me. While painting, I journey into my heart space. I feel a deep soul connection there and it becomes easy to explore, play, and be bold.

I work in acrylic and mixed media, on wood panels or canvas. Layering, glazing, drawing, scraping - whatever brings the surface to life. I alternate working quickly and spontaneously, then zooming in with more precise subtle marks, scrapes, and lines. This process makes me giddy with joy and open to surprises.

There is an alchemy in making art. The raw materials plus you, however you show up in that moment to create something. The practice for me is to stay as open as I can to the possibilities.

I’m inspired by nature and the world around me. The color and light, the shadows and surfaces, they all reveal their story through chips and cracks. Half glimpsed stories I do my best to tell. I am drawn to the shadowy parts that make up my internal landscape. They reveal to me the many roles I have played and the masks I wear, the daily battle to show up as authentically as I can.

The most important thing for me, in the end, is that my work feels like it has lived through something. It has taken on its own shadows, joys, and complexities. It holds the memory of time spent adding, subtracting, and transforming.

Even if just for a moment, I want me and the viewer to journey inward together.

BIO

I grew up in the beautiful and complex county of South Africa. I found true joy and artistic inspiration in the abundant cultures, nature, and vivid colors that surrounded me. From this inspired beginning, I went on to complete a BA Fine Arts degree and then studied graphic design. I have freelanced in this field for the most part over the years, while continuing my personal art making practice.

I moved to the US in 2000, and have been living and working in Los Angeles Ever since.

My inspiration is still drawn from looking deeper into the natural world’s inner and outer landscapes. I have been an avid meditator and student of yoga for many years which has influenced my work and my fascination with continued spiritual and personal growth.

I am interested in the things that emerge when I am creating from the heart space, open to the flow and expanded awareness.