“Why circles?” is a question I am often asked about my paintings. I used to reply that it was a comforting shape, especially within the square canvases I typically use, but after more thought realized how I came to use this shape so often in my work.
caribbean waters, 2018, private collection
In 2015 I needed a way to get through my grandmother’s passing, so I decided to start painting as a way of therapy to process the loss; I hadn’t really touched a paintbrush regularly during the previous 5 years so I didn’t have any big plans other than using the artwork as therapy. I was thinking of time, how long we feel the days are but how short the years really are in the grand scheme of things. Having young children I often feel like the days are very long but seeing how quickly they grow I realize how little time a day actually is, and losing my grandmother magnified that feeling for me. Watching my children play with their art supplies inspired me to set my expectations low, to simply play with the materials and see what happened.
It started with tree rings, believe it or not, and evolved to what my paintings are today. Before this my work had often been representational, still life or figure mostly, so this was also my first foray into abstraction, but I didn’t realize that was where I was headed. For me the circle signifies the cyclical nature of the world, the time we spend in it, and the comfort we find by wrapping ourselves in nature and being with loved ones while they are here.
I am still very much drawn to the circular shape, but now my work varies depending on what I’m inspired by or what I am going through. I have a whole series, the surface series, which has very few circles and is more about the effects of nature on our world over time. The underlying theme of all of my pieces/series is time and process so the circles are a symbol. Sometimes it is very sad for me to think that my blossoming as an artist came out of the loss of my grandmother because she would have been so proud to see me finally making something out of my artwork but with loss there is growth and in this case it was because of her that I am able to make the work I am making today.