Artist Statement
We have the ability to feel the reality of the world separate from thought. We have the ability to feel the presence of an image in our bodies waiting to be painted and to “witness” the process of making it. It is the same for all children before they learn to correct what they do and control it.
My work has followed a journey of its own over the years and as much as possible, I have tried to let it speak for itself. There is no one idea behind it, no specific conceptual base. There are times of fragmentation, loss of identity, weakness and despair. Nothing in the work is hidden. It is, of course, ultimately my own story, of courage and cowardice, true marks and accommodation, of escape from academic doctrine I was taught and which I accepted, of breakthroughs and self-doubt. Landscape has become my primary medium of connection with the world and is my means of exploration. The work is my continuing dialogue with land, ground, and place.
The reality of the world as we think about it is different from the reality of the world as we feel it. I follow feeling. Image making belongs to that realm of feeling and I proceed from there. Perception; simple, bold, direct, concentrating on vision more than idea, intuition more than description, dreams more than wakefulness fills the world and keeps it living. I want that mystery of living to bleed through my “process” of painting. Process is the body talking. Focused in present time, witness to what’s happening, process leads the way
Images have power and should function as “living moments”, calling us to a true experience of the world. An image strong enough to take root in our psyche will shift us in some small or large way in that direction. I want to make images that make “our minds remember”. Images that connect us back to ourselves.
Ultimately my work is about relationship, ways of perceiving and the shifts that occur as we look or dream or travel through our lives. My hope is that at least some of the images are present enough to become “living moments” for all that want to observe.
We have the ability to feel the reality of the world separate from thought. We have the ability to feel the presence of an image in our bodies waiting to be painted and to “witness” the process of making it. It is the same for all children before they learn to correct what they do and control it.
My work has followed a journey of its own over the years and as much as possible, I have tried to let it speak for itself. There is no one idea behind it, no specific conceptual base. There are times of fragmentation, loss of identity, weakness and despair. Nothing in the work is hidden. It is, of course, ultimately my own story, of courage and cowardice, true marks and accommodation, of escape from academic doctrine I was taught and which I accepted, of breakthroughs and self-doubt. Landscape has become my primary medium of connection with the world and is my means of exploration. The work is my continuing dialogue with land, ground, and place.
The reality of the world as we think about it is different from the reality of the world as we feel it. I follow feeling. Image making belongs to that realm of feeling and I proceed from there. Perception; simple, bold, direct, concentrating on vision more than idea, intuition more than description, dreams more than wakefulness fills the world and keeps it living. I want that mystery of living to bleed through my “process” of painting. Process is the body talking. Focused in present time, witness to what’s happening, process leads the way
Images have power and should function as “living moments”, calling us to a true experience of the world. An image strong enough to take root in our psyche will shift us in some small or large way in that direction. I want to make images that make “our minds remember”. Images that connect us back to ourselves.
Ultimately my work is about relationship, ways of perceiving and the shifts that occur as we look or dream or travel through our lives. My hope is that at least some of the images are present enough to become “living moments” for all that want to observe.