Artist Statement: My piano entitled “Cosmic Garden” draws upon my years of experience as a painter and my observations in my own garden. I grew up in an apartment building in Brooklyn, New York and outside my first floor window was a small patch of untended dirt. When I was about 8 years old, I started to dig in that patch of dirt and began planting seeds. From that small barren patch of dirt sprang forth a garden filled with flowers and vegetables. About that same time I was given some tubes of paint by my mother and I started painting on the cardboard inserts that used to come in men’s shirts. Gardening and painting have always been with me and I continue both to this day. My piano really is a culmination of these 2 passions which have informed much of my life since childhood. The paint is applied in an impasto style with the flowers taking on a dimensional, almost sculptural form. This is also a nod to one of the early influences on my art, watching Bob Ross’ “Joy of Painting” on PBS. It was Bob Ross’ use of a palette knife to paint that intrigued me and it has been an element in my paintings ever since. The lush silver background is there to contrast the vibrant flowers and living things that inhabit my piano. The dragonflies, hummingbirds and butterflies depicted on my piano are from photographs that I have taken in my Brooklyn backyard garden.
My journey through the world of art began when I first decorated my parents’ bedroom set with colored chalk. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts, I took a 20 year unplanned hiatus from painting to raise a family and work multiple jobs. Since returning to the world of art as a teacher and painter in 2011 I have been exhibiting my work both in the states and internationally. Over the past five years I have partnered with Sing for Hope to create six painted pianos that have been displayed on the streets of New York City, as part of Hudson Yards’ Holiday Display and at a Refugee Camp in Athens, Greece. Many have since been donated to public schools where they continue to be used. My work has also graced a MINI Countryman that drove around NYC during the summer of 2018 bringing pop-up concerts to all corners of the city. Much of my art focuses on exploring and painting a New York that is quickly slipping into the past including childhood fascination with Coney Island. I have been documenting Coney Island in drawings, paintings and photography since the late 1980’s. I am also an avid gardener and insect enthusiast, seemingly since birth, and images of flowers from my garden also inform much of my work and my color palette. My passion for art has been reignited since I began teaching a class at Regis High School in 2011 for academically gifted yet economically disadvantaged children of immigrants. A complete list of my exhibitions can be found on my website<a href="http://www.brooklyndreamland.com"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">www.brooklyndreamland.com</span></a>
