I have most recently turned my focus back to the figure after many years of painting objects with figure-like characteristics. I have created bodies of work focused on fruit, foliage and even scooters that had the emotion, sensuality and implied relationships of figures. Now, at the age of forty, I have begun to realize that painting the figure and specifically, the portrait, is where my most personal and meaningful work can be created. I am determined to confront the figure and work through the complexities and challenges of the figure like a maze until I reach deep enough to find my voice.

In the summer of 2009, I spent a month at the SommerAkademie in Traunkirchen, Austria painting under the direction of Viennese artist Xenia Hausner. During this intensive period, I traded in my oils for acrylics and experimented on both paper and canvas. It was like learning to paint all over again. With a new medium and an open mind, I approached the canvas with fresh eyes. The body of work in this portfolio consists of the work I created in Austria and in the months since then.