Through patterns I can create a visual language of abstraction and realism by painting the intricate and often wild, unruly patterns of plants in Floridian landscapes and interior domestic spaces. As an inspiration, I look to the patterns that I have seen in my past. I lived in Italy with a ceramic artist whose home was completely covered in mosaics and finely painted patterns.
I then moved to Spain where I was surrounded by Moorish patterns and brightly colored buildings and gardens. I honor these experiences by integrating similar patterns into my work. Patterns further abstract the female form and create the illusion of unified color and form within the composition. Experimentation in my rendering of fabrics, tiles, wallpapers, rugs, and nature allows me to study the way patterns work together and against each other.
Patterning plants, such as kudzu, hydrilla, bamboo and flowers, is a methodological component of my artistic language. By incorporating plants on fabrics, literally covering bodies in plants, and placing figures among the plants, I am honoring the botanical patterning techniques of Henri Rousseau, Henri Matisse, and Jonas Wood. I have an admiration for organic patterns that are inconsistent; however, they feel unifying when placed together. In my use of nature, I focus on the light and colors of plants to create patterns, similar to Rousseau and Wood’s dynamic use of juxtaposing patterns of plants.
