I am a figurative oil painter. For over the past ten years I have been working on a series about transformation in the suspended-in-time moments when the mind is somewhere else. I make large-scale oil paintings where we can sometimes see animals and people float through boldly-colored landscapes ranging from surreal and abstract to more academic.

Since the start of my artist residency Artists off Grid I have been thinking about how we live in a time when urgency defines our days, scrolling social media headlines, breaking news and digital overload. I have turned to the quiet, deliberate world of plants. This body of work, Root Signal, explores how trees and other plant life speak in a language we have nearly forgotten: one of patience, intuition, and time measured not in seconds but in seasons.

Through this series, I study the subtle ways plants communicate with one another, with the earth, and with us. They bend toward light. They stretch, rest, wait and take care of their children and family. Underground, they share resources and warnings through intricate root and fungal networks. Above ground, they reveal stories in their scars and rings. Their language is slow, but if we stop to listen and reflect we can see a supportive community that can thrive almost anywhere and be inspired to do the same.