I've been infatuated with art from the very first time I picked up a pencil. To date, I've been featured in six professional art shows, but it's just the beginning.
So why do I call it "Impulse?" My work is predicated on the idea of starting very free with strokes of color or developing a deep texture; not necessarily putting too much thought into it initially, and developing detail and thought patterns throughout the piece over time. I prefer to let the medium guide me and tell me where to go. I'm capable of creating more traditional work, but I find that this free-flowing impulsive work is more successful for me personally. My work has always been more about creating something that I'm happy with versus what others think I should do, so I'm following my instincts.
My primary focus areas are painting and drawing. My preferred media include: acrylic paint, oil paint, watercolor, charcoal, oil pastels, and colored pencils. I work on a wide range of surfaces from porcelain tiles to Yupo and canvas. Above all else, I like to experiment, and I hope that a lot of my work shows that love of experimentation and my striving to tell a story of who I am in each piece.
Much of my work involves ethereal imagery (usually of a human form), stemming from the nature in which I develop my pieces; working in conjunction with the media, and allowing the materials to show me where to go. There is something so mystifying to me about forms emerging from what would otherwise be unidentifiable shapes and colors; almost as if these beings are materializing from mist right before my eyes. I believe that this is how I am able to embrace my own spirituality despite not being very religious. Lately, I've been looking at ways of combining my more abstract work with wildlife themes, so stay tuned for that.
I currently teach Art at Regis High School in Stayton, Oregon. I absolutely love teaching, and seeing the light go on for my students when they finally understand something. Working for a small private school, like Regis, allows me the flexibility to be able to offer my students experiences they wouldn't get at other schools. If we want to go to the park and draw the local covered bridge for a week, we can do that and they don't have to miss any other class time. If I want to take my advanced art class to the coast to blow glass and get instruction from real working artists, I can. I have been extremely fortunate to have the kind of support I've received, not only from the students, but from the administration and the community as well.
