I am fascinated by lines and marks, and the busy rhythms they can create. So, pure drawing is my passion. This not-so-simple act is an immediate mode of expression, but it’s not forgiving! My heavy use of black inks and marks is deliberate, too, and comes from this same need to express energy and boldness. Even in my prints, I will often draw or make marks directly onto the bare plate with hardground.

Yes, common city street scenes and abstracted skyline views are my regular subject matter. I am endlessly inspired by the way the changing light interacts with the existing linework and the bulky masses. But, in a way, this subject matter is just a means to an end.

It’s my internal reaction to my own prior marks on the paper or plate that REALLY inspires me! My hand and eyes zip here and there, trying to resolve the tensions I sense on the other end of the work. This is why my pieces sometimes almost collapse in busyness and, other times, are reduced to a cartoon. Sometimes, both at once!

I suppose the result is vibrating glimpses, almost. Somehow, this frees me.

In addition to straight drawings, some of my works are mixed media collages, where I cut apart and rearrange bits of prints, drawings or paintings, adding stencils or new marks. Sometimes nails, screws, string or other found materials find their way in, too.

Of course, having concentrated in printmaking for my MFA, I still frequently use traditional printmaking methods. These include: 'etching,' in which I draw or make marks onto copper or zinc plates, use an acid bath to create shapes in the plates, then apply ink by hand into the depressions and transfer the ink onto damp paper using a large press; 'relief,' in which I cut away various surface parts of wood blocks or linoleum sheets, apply ink to the remaining surfaces and transfer the ink onto dry rice paper by hand-rubbing with a wooden spoon or printing with a press; and 'monotype,' a one-of-a-kind “painting” printed onto paper from a painted, still-wet plexiglas plate.