Artist Statement
I studied art, literature and equitation at the University of Tennessee and my life has been spent in the pursuit of each of these interests separately and in combination. Receiving inspiration from great literature and the companionship of horses, I strive to convey through art the feelings evoked by the beauty of forms and the power of words.
My first inspiration came while studying Coleridge's Kubla Kan after starting riding instructions on a stunning gray Arab horse. Rather than a great warrior, I envisioned an Arab stallion from the lines: "....and all would cry: Beware! Beware! His flashing eyes, his floating hair. Weave a circle round him thrice, and close your eyes with holy dread. For he on honey dew hath fed and drunk the milk of paradise." I imagined my own horse and named him Kubla Kan. Until I found him, I would paint him.
On board and canvas, I paint using Acrylic with the oil technique of glazing and the watercolor method of light to dark. I avoid mixing with white or black, which can be deadening. When creating form, I keep my glazes transparent by mixing them with acrylic gloss or matt medium, applying multiple glazes until the desired value is produced. By using medium rather than water, true glazing is achieved. Because the pigment is suspended in the medium away from the canvas, light passes through to the underlying surface and reflects back to the eye. This approach provides for me the most effective means to reproduce, beyond words, the luminous spirit, graceful carriage, and powerful presence of that most beautiful of forms - the Horse.
