About

The exercise of painting has become an act of meditation for me, a way to connect with the mysterious unknown using the imagery of the concrete. Part of my evolution has been to take time out of the act of creating to ponder almost unanswerable questions. There is nothing new in the age old questions of the meaning of life or how we came to be here, just as the act of creating images whether abstract or representational is not new. In fact, I do not see much difference in them. It’s all about applying paint to surfaces to examine or express a thought or emotion; simple or complex; to relate things in a language other than words. In the language of color, pattern and shape.

I had a strong desire to learn how to paint in a classical style. I began with trompe l’oeil still lifes through which I used to examine the material items my family had kept after moving many times. The color relationships in these seemingly mundane domenstic objects of material culture somehow representing my life at that point. Next I placed people in interior settings, the interiors adding to the inner psychological aspect of the person, often using myself. Then I looked outside and taught myself how to paint landscapes. Still, they have a psychological aspect to them and an examination of times past - the broken and abandoned buildings of the early industrial age in this country and the falling down houses the people lived in. In short, my work along this line is all about shadows, the shadow side of what it is to be human and exist on this planet and how nothing stays the same and continues to change. The shadow side in relationship with what we see - like the Taoist symbol yin and yang. All is one and the different aspects are all part of the same thing.

Later, I began looking within. I am currently experimenting and playing with elements which can be called abstract. However, staying home during the Pandemic looking closely at things inside and out, I see all the aspects of the imagery I have been playing with; perpendicular lines, horizontal lines, organic shapes - you name it - it exists both naturally and made by humans. My work is all about the human condition, like a cultural anthropologist studying myself and my environment, playing with pigments and having fun.