I paint what I love and fear. My technical practice and subject matter are inseparably intertwined, grounding and liberating the other in turns. Honoring the tradition of painting, I push the boundaries of what I know, experimenting with subject matter and technique. 

I find enthusiasm and peace in the search for meaning. Ongoing inspirations for my work are death and fear, rejection and isolation, unrequited love and loss, disillusionment and grief. I find the world a sad place, even with all of its blessings. The Tear Catcher collects my tears. 

The mystery of faith – trusting goodness – is life to the heart. I paint with dark colors to signify the active existence of soul residing beneath my awareness. In the Dark Night, I find that love is my heart’s deepest desire.

Our Stone Age ancestors forged the first black pigments from fire, purifying charcoal from bone. Black endures – soulful, fecund, mystical, ritualistic, symbolic – resurgent and eternal. Black has secret splendor, depth and possibility, traversing between worlds, conjuring up infinity.

– Roberta Stoddart