The development of my paintings has evolved in response to the invasive interactions between humans and their environment as it relates to ecological edges. Growing up near the confluence of two rivers has influenced the way I perceive natural processes and relationships in biologically diverse environments. I am captivated by these ecotones (the regions where the edges of two ecosystems overlap), and the observable diversity of species. These transitioning landscapes are inhabited by more individual species than either of the two separate ecosystems alone.
As I explore these themes in my mixed media paintings using natural material, such as wood and beeswax, I begin to understand the observable dynamic of interactions between organisms. The simultaneously destructive and life-bringing aspects of the water in a push and pull relationship with the land mimics the human experience in a way that inspires and scares me. I seek to navigate through these fears and concepts to better understand the relational dynamic of humans and their surroundings. |