A verse from a Mary Poppins’ song has become my mantra, “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” Through dense clustered collage-like compositions I funnel emotions as experiences into my drawings and paintings. I think of these works as my “emotional dumps”. These illustrated diaries span multiple canvases and a lifetime story. The abstract/pictorial images are playful and self-actualizing, but simulate life situations. Whether these narratives are joyous or heart-wrenching, continuity of imagery and color is imperative. It is not necessary to burden the viewer with the negative emotions from which the imagery occasionally evolves. The compulsive need to fill the canvas with images has developed into a recognizable vocabulary. With organic shapes, disarming imagery, and color scheme, I tempt the viewer to pause and discover. I juxtapose recognizable images with abstract shapes giving the viewer hybrids to analyze. This visual narrative communicates my social interaction with the world and reflects my philosophy that life does not unfold in a linear fashion yet everything is interconnected.

My ideas come from global travel, scuba diving, love of nature, visual media bombardment, personal relationships, and traumatic events. Then there is a perceptual shift that creates representational visual constructs. I use my pop art image ambassadors to visually recount these narratives. Why did I select these constructs? The cheerful colors and happy images are an allegory symbolizing masking. I mask the inhumanity of mankind. Only within the eyes of the images, will the viewer perceive a sense of disconnect, sorrow or false gaiety.