Making art gives my life meaning and focus. My paintings celebrate the poetry of life bringing beauty and joy to those who look at them.
You decide who will appear in Artforum Magazine, take home $25,000, and display their work at The Art of Elysium's Salon!
I love working with a palette of colors, putting paint to surface as my spirit dictates. Since switching from oils to acrylics my palette has become bolder and more intense — a feast to my eyes. I prefer working on a solid background because I love the resistance and bounce back of the board. It lets me let go of being precious — I can sand down a piece, rework it, push it further without worry.
Where do you find inspiration?I use my everyday surroundings — landscapes, domestic environments, interiors, and objects and food on tabletops — as a jumping off point to build complex compositions that celebrate the mundane. Designs on walls, rugs and furniture, a detail in someone's home, plants and flowers, museums, stories, community — I am endlessly inspired by ordinary environments and the way we translate them into our lived spaces. Color and light do the rest.
What would you do with $25,000?I would use $25,000 to finally paint at the scale I've always imagined — 6x7 feet. My regular size is 30x40" and my largest to date is 44x56", but I want to go much bigger. This requires larger panels, stretched and prepped canvas, a bigger studio and more materials. I am 64 years old. My time is limited. But the energy and desire are very much alive, and this money would give me the freedom to make that vision real.
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