Departing some years back from personal “formula” of allegoric content and methods, I set off into untried techniques. With the new techniques discovered, I hope to bring a more sophisticated understanding of materials and the painting process and bring back into play some of my favorite themes. Art is a journey, sometimes when you lose your way you find things you couldn’t anticipate. Through creative process, it comes back to mind, creating art is a guide post, a door through which to peer into the inner realm. 

    With a paint splash, the "blank canvas" is obscured. Working out of doors, natural elements like dirt, flora from an overhanging tree and paw print events are welcome. Not controlling the application of paint too much allows for visual surprises, a great “background” to build on and work into. Complex deep texture, rich color palettes -something you can really sink your eyeballs into-are generated with loose, dramatic gestures. Crushing pastels and/or a variety of mediums into wet paper. Ideally, the whole piece is worked at once, slowly building up all areas. Mostly, the paper or canvas “tells” what color it wants, how much and where it goes. There is the idea or vision but physical application guides the piece through visual and visceral discovery. 

    Art school adage (Yes Warren, I was listening): An image is most attainable to the viewer when it is an interpretation of something recognizable: a source has been observed and uniquely rendered. Understanding and respecting the rules, I enjoy breaking them!

    One image may span several pieces of paper glued together. This represents an idea or thing existing simultaneously in different simultaneous realities. This multi-paper use is a tribute to artists who may be sketching in a setting and run out of room so they attach another piece. I love the unfinished look of a work as it reveals the process of creating.

Experimenting with recipes of ground pigments, gouache, graphite, earth, secret ingredients, charcoal from the fire pit plays into the process. There is an emulation of things like rusting metals, texture and color of slate and even dyes used in the Moroccan palate. Whatever the inspiration, I never stray far from my love for color.

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