I am concerned with developing a response to abstraction that addresses nuances of color and surface. My paintings combine depictions of flat and illusionistic space, developed systematically over periods of time that can extend from several months to several years. The surfaces of my work acquire a relief-like quality as I apply acrylic paint mixed with various mediums over collaged surfaces. As configurations of densely clustered shapes emerge, I continually embellish successively smaller shapes over larger underlying rectilinear and geometric shapes, reconciling material fact with visual complexity.