Graduate School

Aside from teaching art, I'm currently working on obtaining my MFA in art education. For the spring semester I'll be exploring my creative process (finally making art for myself!). I've been so focused on my job that it will be nice to paint again. I think its important for art teachers to be exemplary artists themselves. I'll be creating paintings that reference swans and applying abstract techniques. I was inspired by swans because of their representation of love & beauty - yet their aggressive demeanor with people. My main goal is just to create something beautiful that everyone can enjoy, not just artists.

I like to work BIG! With my first painting of the semester I started with many washes, layering, adding and taking away. Lots of sketching of swans and looking at their shapes. After browsing through old sketch books I came across the work of Hans Hoffman. I've decided to explore his use of combining organic/painterly shapes with sharp/flat shapes.