"In my creative process, I layer traditional materials like metal leaf with texture, paint and varnish to craft unconventional land and sea-scapes that capture the essence of moving water. The foundational textures are applied with a palette knife inviting a tactile experience, drawing viewers in to explore the artwork’s surface. The metal leaf is unifying, sometimes bold in its reflective power, sometimes subtle or invisible. It creates a dynamic viewing experience as the paintings evolve with changing light. Using acrylic paint frequently more in the manner of watercolor, I allow spontaneous bleeding and blending, directing and controlling the paint, sometimes not. I sometimes contrast this with thicker, swirling brush strokes. While natural landscape colors find their way into my paintings, I usually pursue bolder color harmonies. I also use color temperature as well as perspective to draw the viewer into a piece - to figuratively "enter the water." Each painting is finished with a lacquer-like varnish that enhances its luminosity.  

Inspired by the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, my work seeks to convey a sense of the ever changing present  juxtaposed against the larger perspective of the eternal. I invite the viewer to pause and reflect on the fluidity of the temporal as well as to consider the larger, sacred nature of this cosmos to which we belong."  --JM

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