Between Painting and Sculpture
            Painted Prayers

Throughout my life as an artist I have drawn inspiration from both the human form and the landscape, from childhood memories and from ancient biblical text, symbols, and poetry. In early 2009 many of these images began to be stacked or piled up with each other.  These sources have been part of my exploration of the human community and our shared visual language.

My early training was as a sculptor studying the figure.  Over time the work has become freer as forms have been continually abstracted in a series of works whether in fired clay, steel, and in oil paint on paper or canvas. From 1980 and into the early 90’s I was primarily a sculptor, expressing the complex forms of the body in the most minimal ways possible and with expressive and powerful forms and lines. The connection to sculptural form has remained as I have turned to painting.

In 1993 on a grant to work in Jerusalem, I came upon a large ceramic vessel at the Israel Museum. It had an ancient sun and tree of life crudely carved into the clay. References to these images and others like them have remained in my work over the last 16 years, as I have been drawn to this abstract, minimal, primal kind of representation.

In 1998 I moved to Gloucester, Massachusetts and my work was refreshed and energized by painting outside, by the fresh air, the light, the sea and salt marshes and by new colors and divisions of space.

I paint on canvas or gessoed paper using oil paints. Sizes of the work can be from 15” x 11” to 6’ x 8’. 

For the most part I have painted with gratitude for my many blessings and with the perpetual theme running through my head of how to hold the world and those I love safe.  Many of the works are “painted prayers”.  Some have started to incorporate words or parts of poems.  The following are some of the recent titles:

“You have stolen my heart with a single glance” ( Song of Songs 4:9).
“Have you ever seen anything more beautiful than when the sun…”. (Mary Oliver)
Jacob’s Ladder (Sculpture Series)
Painted Prayers