I am drawn to the graceful form of horses.  I paint them with elongated legs and stylized manes to abstract their form beyond the representational and enhance a sense of movement  and presence.  I sometimes give them unusual colors, such as red manes and tails, to move them into a decorative plane and illustrate the beauty of their shape beyond traditional form.  Placing these unusual forms on a background of earth tones provides an interesting contrast that is pleasing to the eye.  I am influenced and inspired by the work of Franz Marc and his whimsical depiction of animals as well as the Bauhaus artists and their use of primary colors and simple design. 

 

With my photographs, I seek to show the extraordinary aspects of what might otherwise seem ordinary.  I love photographing cats, which I see as works of art in themselves, and photographing dogs with their people.  I believe that dogs and humans have a symbiotic relationship and I set out to capture this connection in my photographs of them.