Nepenthe Gallery Show

Following a visit to Japan, I've been interested in prints from the Shin Hanga movement, particularly the work of Kawase Hasui. I love the way he uses natural framing of the objects in his compositions. Inspired by this, I’m pushing the foreground to fill more of my paintings, I often rework the visual perspective such that the middle and background planes are visible even though the foreground is seen from a very low point of view.

This simultaneous view from within the grasses, and slightly above the scene, represents the need for presence in the details of life while also holding a larger view in mind, paying attention to specifics and remembering the larger context.

For color, abstraction and mark-making, twentieth century painters Georgia O'Keeffe, Herman Maril, and the Group of Seven are influences. Fairfield Porter's use of keyed up color, dark hints of line to separate color fields, and his rough brush strokes are a more recent influence on my aesthetic. Many of the titles of these paintings come from poems written by Fairfield Porter.

This exhibit is a two-person show with my husband the painter John Rufo.