I am motivated to create abstract paintings through channeling of emotion and autonomic movement. Or so I thought ...
In my early work I was primarily interested in pure abstraction. I explored the relations of shapes, lines and colors, only sporadically using a realistic visual reference. This approach has evolved in the last two years as I felt a need to connect with and seek guidance in the reality of my surroundings.
In late 2015, I started to collect and hang large tree branches in my studio. I collected dried flowers, blooms, and rocks. This was not a new habit, but they became the external inspiration and a point of reference for my paintings. For a period of several months I also used various cuts of raw meat and bones (as reference) from the local butcher store that I hung on a string in the studio. The meat didn't last long and I eventually had to rely on my photographs, but its physical presence was necessary for what I was trying to do.
These objects became the impetus for my latest work and they continue to serve as a compass in my personal contemplations on life's revolving cycle, through painting .... its force and fragility, birth and decay, its transformations, renewal and rebirth.
The versatility of oil paint presents an ideal medium of expression for me. While I utilize the pigment and oil to create illusion, I also (with the use of knifes, sticks, brushes and spatulas) sculpt the paint and create reliefs that enhance my narrative physically through texture.
