I paint mostly because I am passionate about color. I paint because my imagination dogs me before I open my eyes, when I wake up, and then again just before I fall asleep. I paint compulsively and intuitively. I feel blessed to have such a gift. If there is any talent involved, it is the marriage of practice and training.

 As a Hispanic women I feel inclined to use lots of gold. Like a crow I admire small bits of sparkle and use them whenever the occasion allows. As part Mexican and living in Mexico, I feel like I came home to my other family with the capricious use of symbolism and allegories. In the 20x20 allegorical series Spiritual Gifts I use both the sparkle and the symbolism to create some unknown story. I use empty bowls lined with gold to represent the vessel that we are as human bodies. I use fish often to represent faith. I use eggs and nests because I always remember what a wise friend told me once when I was depressed: remember there are always pleasant surprises. I often use jewelry to blatantly represent “Spiritual Gifts.” I use birds, mostly crows to express my relationship with Spirit. In the Native American culture the crow symbolizes law. We are supposed to consider our actions if they are aligned with order and righteousness whenever we see a crow. Fortunately, this was not contrived; I only figured this out years after painting them. I still have no idea why I often paint Asian women.

 As part Navajo Indian, I am attracted to the organic shapes I use in my abstract paintings. My current series is called Crusando las Fronteras, or crossing the frontiers. I am exploring the symbol of the cross, with its many implications and moods. I am living across the border from my homeland and exploring a new creative lifestyle with a vengeance. I am painting the images that come into my head without my usual scrupulous cautions, simply responding to the unlimited images that show up in my imagination.

 As a painter I am convinced I am part of some unspoken media. Like a journalist I report my impressions of the current events. My job is to show up at the easel and narrate through my images what I am observing.