Artist Statement

Both my studio and home are located in what once was a monastery on a secluded ridge. Despite the seeming contradiction,
I love the isolation, but I also enjoy being very social at times.

My work is drawn from religious imagery, the masters, Russian icons, propaganda posters, circus sideshow banners
and personal observation. I am a representational artist who is more concerned with the abstract emotional content of my work.

Technical execution is very important because portraiture can be an unforgiving art form. There is always the
struggle between being true to the emotion and to the structure. Arguably, one discipline employs the right side of the brain
and the other the left.  I seem to thrive on this   conflict and duality, in my life as well as in my art.  My desire is to portray an
emotion or awareness using traditional representational art as my vehicle. The use of a large-scale iconic format serves to
elevate and venerate the subject matter further.

Recently, I have been working with encaustic medium but my main medium remains oil pastel. I love the versatility
and immediacy of it. I can use oil pastels with encaustic to achieve amazing texture and luminosity. I take most of my own
photos to work from, but I also work from memory, old photos and newspapers.

It is not my intention to dictate or exact a response from the viewer, rather to allow them to feel their own narrative.

 PBS INTERVIEW, 2nd segment:
 http://www.youtube.com/user/ksmq#p/search/2/FAn0vkeW1eA

Contact The Artist

 Artist Website