I remember getting a color-by-number colored pencil set for Christmas when I was about eight years old and thinking it was fabulous. Back then I loved putting one color here and another color there, almost like a science project. No wonder then that as I got older I focused on math and science and that is what I studied at university. After years of drawing things under a microscope while earning my degree in Biology, I developed a keen eye and a knack for detail. After graduating and whilst living in London my interest returned to art and I would say like millions of others, that Van Gogh was my favorite. I also read art history books from cover to cover, “From Giotto to Cezanne” was one I particularly remember. There in London, I had the opportunity to really learn to paint in oils, to stretch canvases and to truly appreciate art in general, and that is where I started my artistic career, as a portrait artist.

Back then, I was painting to please other people and I longed to express the real me and be more expressive in my painting.  It wasn’t until I moved to NYC and began painting there at The Art Students’ League that I truly converted to abstract.  Larry Poons’s input was invaluable to my growth as an abstract artist, but I don’t believe my paintings would be my own had I not been on a lifelong emotional journey to believe in my own worth and recover from severe early trauma.

Painting is almost like a compulsion.  I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t paint.  It gives me pleasure and acknowledges my pain. That being said however, having been blessed with a lifetime of travel, has also been a huge source of inspiration.  I don’t like to paint a specific image of a place but more my memories of the colors there and the feelings I had.  Oil paint is usually my medium of choice, and I sometimes start with an underpainting in acrylic.  Unless working on a commission, I don’t set out to paint anything specific, anything I see.  I start with whatever color I’m feeling and the painting just comes out of me. I really try not to think, even if I begin with a vague idea.  I love painting big.  The bigger the better, allowing me to paint with large gestures. Being able to let go and let things happen with the belief that random events will only make it better in the end has taken me years to achieve. Letting go of the notion of perfection in my painting has helped me do the same in my everyday life.

My favorite pieces of advice are from Larry Poons, of course: “Trixie, like Ernest Tubbs sang, try to say good-bye the way you say hello!”  And, “Don’t think, just paint!” or “You stopped for a reason, now don’t try to “fix” it!”