I have worked within the categories of genre painting for most of my artistic career. The slowness of painting and the cultural commentary still life painting affords me have retained mystery and curiosity for the duration of my career. The immediacy and intimacy of each moment is contained within the touch of painting, linking it to the passage of time as meted out in everyday increments. Of course, those increments of time must remind us death is imminent. The vanitas painting of the 17th century is certainly re-blooming in the still-life paintings created in the past year. Grief for our lives lived pre-pandemic is tangible in my still life paintings. Objects as benign as board games, houseplants, and tarot cards become signifiers of futility, doubt and fear while simultaneously offering moments of respite.
