Artist Statement:
My watercolor paintings are the physical manifestation of my deep connection to the natural world. Growing up in the vast visual landscapes of South Dakota and Minnesota fed my hunger for the unreachable horizon. I am nourished and comforted by nature's repeating advice to look closer, slow down, and be alive. In the human world of work and busy-ness, I feel, we often forget to actually be outside among the magic of places that surround us. Painting landscapes that nod to nostalgic realism with sprinkles of the imaginary bring the outside in to remind us that our connection with the world outside walls is a basic need to fulfill. While I work with realistic elements that are familiar, the specific place is a mystery solved by the viewer and the abstracted layers invite you to bring close what is far away. Nature's gifts are the intangible food for the soul. When I feel drained of energy, it is my connection to the natural world, both immediate and from memory, that sustains me.