From this discovery with paint, I quickly followed up with training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago,and then at the University of Tulsa. Painting archetypes- portraits of people, biblical characters, death, motherhood-- the emotions were what charged the work. Throughout, I chose not to paint photo realistically but rather use vivid colors as a way to represent the work. Even though I spent 10 years copying paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago as part of my training, I depend on my intuition to guide my work.
I describe my own style of painting as “IntuitiveExpressionism”. Tracing the influences in my life that have formed this style, I think of first, the sense of being an “outsider”. Growing up in an affluent suburb of Chicago, I saw my parents, immigrants from Europe (Czechoslovakia), misunderstood and sometimes ignored because of their accents.
My art reflects my experience in creating documentary films. It led me to prefer a style of painting that conveys a sense of movement and action, rather than being static. Also, I spent two years in Japan as a young college-age person, and I think that experience honed my skills of reducing things to their essence, as Japanese art does.
contact
312 806 7200
