Artists are inspired by many things: the visible world, emotions, ideas, the formal elements of painting, and other paintings. Consciously--or unconsciously--my works have been influenced in some degree by all of these factors, but tending to rely more heavily on representation of the visible world with an emphasis on the meaning of objects. As my work has evolved, I've had a greater concern for the formal qualities of painting itself. How the layering of translucent colors can create a subtle, yet immense, shift in space. How the space surrounding a subject has as much or more relevance as the object itself. How energy can be suggested through the juxtaposition of line against mass, opacity against transparency, flatness against volume.
This emerging emphasis on formal problem solving as an influence on my work has meant a shift to some degree of abstraction. Representing subject matter is becoming of less concern than the suggestion of the subject through the successful interplay of color, form, shape and texture. As Arshile Gorky says: "Abstraction allows man to see with his mind what he cannot physically see with his eyes...Abstract art enables the artist to perceive beyond the tangible, to extract the infinite out of the finite. It is the emancipation of the mind."
Abstraction, as a major new direction in art, began as a simplification and generalization from nature. Landscape with its great variety of colors and shapes demands simplification even if one's goal is to realistically depict its nature. For me, landscape seems the ideal vehicle to explore the formal qualities of painting and still suggest a recognizable subject or energy. Additionally, landscape has the power to ground us with its horizon line, inspire musings into the future, compare contrasts inherent with sky/land, day/night, stillness/chaos and reference human characteristics.
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Matter (Non Matter) is the resulting series of paintings. The word matter, both as a noun (meaning subject or substance) and verb (meaning be of importance) presented itself with regularity during this time of transition in my work. Not only was I struggling with the meaning of my work, but I was questioning its representational quality and becoming ever more enamored with the physicality of paint. Matter (non matter) categorizes a duality of meaning within this new series of paintings in that these works are as much about the qualities of the paint or pastel (elements of art) as they are about the referenced subject matter (elements of nature). Matter (non matter) takes on the challenge of addressing the meaning of landscape not through the depiction of a real place or scene, but through the layering and rubbing and manipulation of color on surface to suggest the phase or state of matter in nature and its associative meaning.
Working somewhere between reality and imagination, the intent with this work is to represent the qualities of matter both in flux and at rest: the fluidity of water, the volatility of fire, the stability of earth, the mobility of air. The paintings also strive to contrast this energy against the idea of a fifth element or non-matter.
Also influencing my work are my sharing of a common spirit with artists such as JWR Turner, Joan Mitchell, Antoni Tapies, Mark Rothko and Gerhard Richter. They have influenced my color and techniques. The aesthetic sensibilities of John Dewey guide my thoughts about art.
My teaching resume includes 4 years as an elementary art instructor at St. Paul's Academy and most recently at my own studio, Works On Canvas. My paintings have been seen in various group shows in Bellingham, WA and are on exhibition during Downtown Art Walk the first Friday of the month at my studio/gallery Works On Canvas.
