An artist’s biography or statement is an odd thing in that the artist has already communicated their vision through a medium other than textual nonfiction. Through music, visual arts, dance, poetry etc. the artist has “said” what they want to say. However, as a “developing” artist, I have yet to say it all through my chosen medium, printmaking, so a word or two about my art.

No doubt my interest in a muted, low contrast, palette can be traced back to my childhood wherein I spent my formative and favorite years in a small village on the Irish Sea and often, in the Irish Sea. My siblings and I were earthy kids, immune to fear and discomfort. At Sea Point, the 4:00 p.m. sunsets were a dusty mustard hue, a grey sky reflected off an even greyer ocean, steely blue clams hunkered in cracks on glistening rocks, saturated brown sand could barley muster a quick breath before the beating surf returned, and the lines of delineation between sea, sky, cloud, horizon, ancestor, tear and ghost, was obscured as our numb, cold eyes squinted against the chilly mist.

If you study the art of villagers in the tropics, for example, bright, verdant colors figure prominently. This is the visual landscape in which the artist spent their childhood. And in creativity, as in so many parts of our lives, the experiences of our youth are with us always, and tend to inform much of our adult lives.