I aspire to make evocative, relevant artworks, which almost always leads me to paint abstractly. My work is indebted to developments within 20th Century Western abstraction that we now acknowledge as a pre-feminist painting genre. I am particularly inspired by what is broadly referred to as 'Lyrical Abstraction,' and by research I've done to teach painting, ancient through contemporary art histories, art methods and theories, color theory, and drawing. Philosophically I am positioned within feminist aesthetics, and I use auto-theoretical methods. Color often drives my painting, which I begin with acrylics on gessoed canvases or linens, and sometimes complete in oils. 

 I am also influenced by my outside-of-academia life experiences. 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.