Statement
"every form and zone of color is seized in its characteristic emotional force, and these are the paths by which finite things become infinity.."
My work is about exploring the subconscious through the emotional and fluid components of expressionist painting. This exploration questions the order of our lives, and our place in this world, as the abstract logic of intuition guides both the subject matter and palette between the natural and subconscious worlds. The differing levels of abstraction are a result of my intuitive thinking navigating the realms of what I see, feel, and what is imagined. Quick marks become figures, objects, and landscapes, which flicker and move through the layering of color and images, and dry brush stokes cross washes with linear elements. Coming from their own time and place, and improvised, the imagery in my art rises from a deep place and into my studio.
Animals, plants, buildings, and other objects are sometimes anthropomorphized to explore the playful, dangerous, and unpredictable elements of human nature. Produced through subconscious activity, the inhabitants make their way across the canvas, coming to life through layers of color. Angular relationships in the composition create movement and urgency to mirror both the imagery and the palette.
I'm convinced that just the physical sensation of applying the brush to the canvas inspires the landscapes and its occupants. The intuitive process of painting combined with the tactile nature of applying paint is uniquely inspiring, because I have little control over the images revealed, other than to bring them to life. Despite various levels of conscious decisions made during the process, it is easy for me to believe that the images in my art exist on their own terms. Alfred Hitchcock's statement, "I believe in surprise, I believe in suspense", is wonderful and concise summary of my creative process.
Bio
Since I was old enough to hold a crayon, I was creating art impulsively, intuitionally, and constantly. Growing up in the South, teachers would complain about or compliment my art as it usually appeared on my homework, and friends and family members were often baffled that I preferred drawing to playing sports. After receiving my BFA in Drawing and Painting from the University of Georgia, I fled the South as far as I could – to Seattle – and exhibited in numerous small galleries and coffee shops for ten years.
A combination of influences began to affect my work: exposure to German Expressionism
and post war art movements, contemporary art, and a vibrant anarchist community
which focussed on labor, immigrant, and prisoner rights. The emotional response
to these influences were perfectly accommodated by my intuitional and subconscious
approach to creating art. Soon experimental video and their soundtracks, which
had begun while living in the South, became a logical extension of my drawing
and painting.
While visiting New York City, I arranged to paint murals in a Chelsea coffee
shop, and committed to moving to the city soon after. As the twin towers were
falling on 9/11, I was packing up for the move, and have resided in Brooklyn
ever since. The influences of my past have been amplified by life in a city
bursting with art and the socio-political elements of its diverse communities.