Artist Statement

Following the tradition of the Old Masters, the Italian word cartone, or cartoon, was a large piece of paper used to sketch an original drawing as a visual guide to be copied for a larger scaled and finished work. Today in a contemporary setting this is not always the case. A drawing can be an end in itself. An original drawing can be demonstrated in an expansive number of ways by applying the design principles artists rely on. Vincent van Gogh set a new standard for finished line drawings that meets the test of time. His eye for the human form and linear landscapes through line are lively and powerful. My drawings are a cross section of line work where the absence of line is as important as the presence of form. The imagination of the viewer is engaged to interpret the work as I have stretched the representational forms to include line as contour, shades and color as content, as well as interiors, landscapes, human forms, and bird studies.