My art works are always abstractions of both nature and imagination, mostly built sort of fusing figure and landscape. This sometimes include fragments of figure but primarily nonobjective abstraction. Often, I find myself painting imaginary places where something is expected or has happened. Someplace where people ‘feel’ something special. Something spiritual or awe inspiring. A thing or place of wonder.
Painting
The paintings are largely abstractions built on fractured form and overlay of color and line to capture light and create visual depth. I find myself fascinated by certain concepts of contrast and chaos in the pursuit of coherent and harmonious design. In this way I seek to create works reflecting the natural universe and both our place in it and the human condition and experiences we all share.
My paintings started as works with pastels on paper which often included gold leaf and other media. In the early 1980’s I was introduced to an interior designer who specialized in very high-end homes in the Palm Desert area. He wanted artworks to place in these projects, but they needed to be of large scale and he liked my work. I developed a way to make large format pastel paintings by fabricated aluminum panels. These had back frames that supported panels requiring two pieces and enabled me to stand the panel off the wall 2” which eliminated the need for framing. I have used this panel process many years even as I my work developed into acrylic painting. Now the works are primarily acrylics with pastel and other media added as necessary in a supporting role.
All my paintings focus on the desire to create works with a sense of visual depth and dynamic movement throughout the composition. I try to keep the works fresh and alive, by preserving a certain sense of spontaneity through the process. For many years I painted on aluminum panels but now over the last few years, I have worked more with stretched canvas and now paper. In my most recent works I decided to make up paper panels by adhering art paper to a 1/4” piece of plywood which has a back frame attached., making a rigid working surface and presenting it off the wall surface a little bit, which creates a look consistent with my metal panels, while preserving the beautiful deckled edge and textures of watercolor and printmaking papers. On this surface I then draw and paint with acrylics as usual, while avoiding the need to stretch the paper and all that goes into framing the finished pieces.
I have read other artists talk about the process of painting and find we share similar experiences. In the process of creating, I often have no plan for the final piece, preferring to allow it to emerge through the process of applying and moving paint around on the surface. Sometimes I will draw something that serves as a template or guide under the painting to establish some overall form. Often not. The works are always studies in design principles like finding harmony through working with color, line, contrast and chaos, capturing light and depth in the painting I create the works you see here.
Sculpture
My sculptures result from a different, more formal process. I design and plan out the pieces to a large extent, leaving enough unfinished space to add or remove things in the process of finishing a piece. I find that the process of fabricating metal or whatever often dictates or even creates unexpected possibilities for expression to emerge in the work.
In addition to gallery works, I have built larger scale pieces for installation in public spaces. These were commissioned by government agencies or individuals for building lobbies or exterior spaces. These works were designed in response to the desires of those involved, in order to animate and enhance spaces, creating interest for visitors and occupants of these places. The commissioned works include suspended, wall hung and free standing pieces on their own and as part of larger installations that create ‘places’ in which the works are a part or the entire environment itself.
My gallery pieces are either free standing or more often, designed to hang on a wall. These have been included in many private collections and several in larger more public placements. The installations are reminiscent of places encountered or discovered and the feeling that experienced left. As such, they often express the process of recollection while sometimes speaking to my interest in aspects of human nature and the rituals or activities/institutions we create to help us understand nature around us. and ourselves. Things like religion that play so prominently in the human psyche and have been a fundamental force in shaping the development of civilization and cultures.