Artist Statements

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1996 - 2002

(artistic expression)

As an artist I’ve always spent a portion of my creative efforts experimenting with different mediums or different approaches to imagery and expression. In college this led me to try mixing different drawing and painting media with collage, photography, and even low relief sculpture. For the most part my explorations were not derived from formal issues rather they resulted from the desire to appropriate imagery for conceptual and personal expression using metaphor and symbolism. Also my art overall became more about memory and sense of self rather than using imagination to create things that stood outside of myself. For this more autobiographical work I wanted to express a vague sense of nostalgia along with a decaying sense of time so I started to use drawing media, mostly charcoal, and industrial supplies to make my objects and places look old, rusted and dreamlike. The methods of working became expressions themselves and I played on this for conceptual content. After 3 years of this non-traditional approach and my surrealistic “Alchemy” series (1998 - 2000) I slowly started to go back to straight painting in acrylic. At that time I was majoring illustration which also led me back to thinking a little about just graphic image making. On my own I started to find release and interest in not only pure landscapes but also creating minimal “painterly” works for the sake of just painting. These early landscape paintings showed a return to realistic rendering as well as exploring textural and impressionistic effects. My current paintings reflect these ideas while conveying a more personal style, which draws from both traditional and contemporary landscape art.

2002 - 2006

(creating paintings)

My acrylic paintings are created from tube and jar acrylics with the occasional use of acrylic ink and molding paste for texture. Most of the elements in my landscapes are conceived in the process of painting which doesn’t require much preliminary planning except for general sketching on the surface with graphite. Some of my paintings are done on canvas while most are done on masonite which I usually prefer because of its hard surface and flexibility for different sizes. After applying an initial layer of thin paint to plan general composition I begin to work up thick layers in a more opaque manner with the occasional glazing in between. The process at times requires me to work fast to blend and mix color right on the surface to create gradation while additional layers help to bring more shift in color and tone. For me creating a painting is a personal balance between release of energy found in expressive brushwork and color as well as peacefully working out the elements with a little persistence. This practice allows not only direct physical involvement but also a sense of meditation and reflection. My works try to express fragmented feelings and places dislocated from time and even my conscious mind but the very act of painting them sets them in real time, it is this interplay of labor and timelessness that creates the experience of painting.

2004

(landscape painting)

Landscape is such a dominate subject in fine art painting that it is almost impossible to create a landscape painting that does'nt either resort to historical approaches, popular sentiments and cliche's or the artifices of landscape painting itself. As a contemporary artist my entire approach to landscape painting and art in general is based on and motivated by a set of simple ideas and principles that are personally developed as well as ones that find there place in the history of traditional and modern art. The diversity of methods and imagery that exist not only in the contemporary world but also from the past can influence so much experiementation and different feelings that it makes the life of a contemporary landscape painter a challenge. In todays art world it is also the diversity of opinions and attitudes towards landscape art that presents challenges for the painter in not only finding ones place but also discovering genuine idioms that are personal and meaningful. I think it is important to accept the fact that technological and cultural changes can also greatly dictate the work of todays landscape artists. One principle that I make use of in not only the way I work but also the meaning of my art is striking a personal balance between tradition and the secular. This is also true of the entertainment I consume, the music I listen to and my general lifestyle. I guess it gives my life and art meaning to be able to simply adopt and discover whatever works and feels right. It is also the juxtaposition of the natural and contemporary world that I describe this sentiment as a new age one. My landscape paintings are just as much inspired by tradition, technology and fantasy as they are from real experience. They are also inspired by abstract forms and motifs that I use to re-represent my personal experience and emotions.