I love reading – and the extraordinary way in which books can transport me to another world is what inspires my artwork. I paint what I feel as I’m reading these stories; and I want to share the beautiful lands that I’ve imagined with my viewers.
My paintings are rooted in the symbolism, landscapes, and magic of Fairy Tale literature. My newest series, The Light of the Trees, is inspired by the Brothers Grimm, Disney’s Pocahontas, and JRR Tolkien’s Silmarillion. Tolkien’s poetic description of light and shadow in Valinor and Middle Earth, alongside motifs of sexuality and personal transformation found in so many Grimm stories are themes I am investigating with my current work. The shift in color and light throughout the birch tree forests represent the transition from newness and innocence to maturity, love, and even darkness.
