Artist Statement

I confront the Climate Crisis through my artwork. Active in the renewable energy industry and community-building organizations like Climate Imaginarium and ClimateCafe.eco, I have witnessed how emotions can both motivate and paralyze action. My latest work explores the concept of Active Hope.

 

My figurative oil paintings investigate the complex feelings surrounding climate change. Vibrant colors, energetic brushwork, and the female form are elements I use to explore the interwoven, evolving force of our humanity, and to create pathways toward connection, understanding, and action. 

 

In Hope in the Dark, writer and activist Rebecca Solnit provides an inspiring vision: “Hope just means another world might be possible, not promised, not guaranteed. Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope.” This concept pushes me to create a vision of personal empowerment to influence a future by taking control of our actions now. Our collective actions today matter greatly.

 

I sense a cultural shift, calling on female leadership to confront our crisis. My representational use of the female form mirrors this shift. I paint the body as open and full of possibility–reflecting the idea of Active Hope. Open eyes signify awareness, and outstretched hands imply intent. Rippling water represents how today’s choices ripple forward towards possible tomorrows. Saturated colors and exaggerated anatomy convey anxiety, fear and vulnerability, but also kinship, strength and love. 

 

The circular or timeline-like flow of my compositions breaks down barriers between figures, weaving veins and flesh to emphasize the continuous flow of life across generations. Figures intertwine with elemental landscapes, flaming terrains meet glowing blazes that emanate from the body, polluted black air swirls against blue skies, water ripples across oceans and pours from distant rainstorms as Earth comes alive and fertile beneath. All these symbolize human interdependence with natural cycles and our frightening capacity to influence them on a massive scale. 

 

We live and breathe in a pivotal moment shaped by the actions of our ancestors, just as what we do today will impact those who come after us. It is critical that we recognize our deep generational connection to each other and Mother Earth now. Through my activist work and artwork, I strive to inspire action and cultivate Active Hope.