I aspire to make evocative, relevant artworks, which almost always leads me to paint abstractly. And I am inspired by research I do to teach painting, ancient through contemporary art histories, art methods and theories, color theory, and drawing, as well as by my outside-of-academia life experiences. Philosophically I am positioned within feminist aesthetics, and I use autotheoretical methods. Color often drives my painting, which I begin with acrylics on gessoed canvases or linens, and sometimes complete in oils. In my current portfolio, 'AutoAbstract Painting,' the palette is influenced by my recent investigations into the Fitzpatrick Skin Type Scale or SPF chart, a Pantone SkinTone Booklet, various beauty product promotional color charts, several paint brands premixed 'portrait' paints, and by my own olive complexion. Some of the pieces are executed in a gesturally abstract or painterly way that has been likened to graffiti. Others are done in a geometric or non-objective style, and most lend themselves to psychosexual and/or abstracted figurative interpretations.                                      

My work is indebted to developments within  20th Century abstraction, by what is generally referred to as 'Lyrical Abstraction.' I am particularly influenced by Spiritualist Painting, including Cosmic Diagrams and Tantra Painting, and by these remarkable painters… Hilma af Klint, Sonia Delaunay, Arshile Gorky, Willem deKooning, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, Joan Mitchell, Mary Abbott, Jay DeFeo, Cy Twombly, Bridget Riley, Sam Gilliam, Alma Thomas, Andy Warhol, Eva Hesse, Phillip Guston, Lucian Freud, Howard Hodgkin, Susan Rothenberg, Brice Marden, Sean Scully, and Joan Snyder.