I began this body of work in 2003 while living in Northern California. Its inspiration stems from a surprising source: my hour-long commute to the Silicon Valley. As I rushed past the clutter of signage and fences along the freeway every day, the landscape and horizon in the distance appeared still and tranquil. I began photographing and digitally manipulating the blurred landscapes to try to replicate their calm. Those compositions became the basis for oil paintings that I created using brushed-out layers of muted color.

When I moved to New Mexico a year ago, my circumstances and surroundings changed dramatically. Pregnant with my first child, I stopped commuting and began working from home. As I began exploring my new surroundings on foot, I found myself returning each day to the same bench in the middle of a large tree-lined park. My new neighborhood park felt oddly familiar, in part because it evoked the sense of calm I had found previously in the roadside landscapes of the Bay Area. Revisiting this park in different seasons, and at different times of day under changing light, I began to draw upon it for my new imagery.

I work with pure linseed oil because its fluid, expressive nature makes it possible to slow down my painting process in a way that alkyd and acrylic media didn’t permit.  I now spend an entire day reworking layers, building them over time to achieve luminosity and a sense of depth. I use my entire body when I work, applying and moving the paint around with my hands before brushing out the surface. For me, the tactility of the materials is somehow connected to replicating those feelings of familiarity and belonging that particular locations can evoke. That grounded sense of the familiar is the perfect counterpoint to the freedom and adventure I feel when I’m painting.