Artist Statement

Art is an expression of life; the wisdom, pain, and joy we know from our earliest moments. My artworks reflect experiences, some large, some small—all equal in that they share the same struggle, release and wonder. As I work I “enter the forest where there is no path”. I embark on a quest to find and connect with pieces of the heart, some battered, some lost, some hidden deep within. Embracing them, I discover treasures.

My earliest drawings are portraits of civil war soldiers copied from photographs in books when I was in elementary school. I can still recall the deep-set eyes of the men who looked out from the pages of war. I turned to nonobjective landscapes in my mid twenties as I studied at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C. and journeyed to Paris, Florence and New York. My work became prolific in the 1990’s; those drawings display multiple layers pulling the viewer inward. I walked deeper into the forest in search of a bridge, or a secret, or a truth that would provide a sense of healing. The struggle was to work without contrivances or ulterior motives; to be directed by my heart rather than by preconceived notions of what a drawing should look like.

My works have expanded. Color, texture and movement are the main components. A sense of discovery, vulnerability and delight bind these components and open my heart.

Geoff Desobry
June 2004