The small figurative paintings that I've created over the last decade began with a series I began in 1995. They are based on photographs that I took more than twenty years ago of my daughter and her friends while they were playing dress-up. Playing dress-up in childhood is familiar to everyone, but filtered through memory it gains an enigmatic and mysterious quality. The loss of something precious is the source of their poignancy. The small scale, juicy handling of paint, and jewel-like colors are intended to evoke precious moments long past.

My work gradually evolved from painting depictions of children's fantasy play to painting everyday, intimate moments in people's lives when they reveal something about themselves that is real and precious. Small gestures and facial expressions reveal individuality. Pictorial spaces between and around figures describe emotional relationships as well as individual isolation. Each painting depicts a small drama that leaves something to the imagination of the viewer.