Though my work fits into the realist tradition, it owes a debt to modernism's emphasis on design and attention to the medium.  The multiple vantage points of Cezanne's "lived perspective," Giacometti's search for form through revision, and Mondrian's incredible balance, have provided inspiration.  Like the distortions found in cubism, those in my work could be considered content in the modernist sense.

 

I was also influenced by working with a number of German artists who could be labeled "neo-expressionist" or "neo-primitive."  These "post-modern" movements stress the importance of communication through the use of narration, and irony.  My use of a nonspecific narrative captures ordinary situations which allow for multiple interpretations.  Potentially animate objects and interiors suggest psychological overtones and invite viewers to contemplate the ritualistic aspects of common behavior.

 

Michael Wood, in his book Art of the Western World, describes the philosophical underpinnings of many contemporary realist artists:

 

    "Thiebaud and Hockney are just two of the many older realists whose formal rigor is at the service of visually and emotionally enriching imagery.  Increasingly gaining recognition, such painters as Louisa Mattiasdottir,William Bailey, Janet Fish, Neil Welliver, and many others represent the continuing importance of the artist as the interpreter and transformer of visual experience into something beautiful and life-enhancing."