Artist Statement


To say that my work is influenced by one thing alone would be too confining.  However, it is true that my work is heavily influenced by the constantly evolving effects of nature and the chaotic influences it has on our changing world.  I view nature as the catalyst for most of what inspires my work.  I marvel at the views created from any window or vista I encounter.  Nature casts layer upon endless layer of limitless textures, shapes, colors, and immeasurable unseen subtleties that can't be described in any written form.  Therefore, I paint. Through my paintings I try to capture the influences of these points in nature and instill them in my work.  Like nature, my work constantly evolves and changes to reflect my interpretation of the world around me.

 

This most recent body of work is a result of many years of studying designs, textures, materials, and usage of color from different cultures, both present day and throughout history.  I have personally experienced the world and the effects nature has on other parts of the world through traveling to and living in other countries.  I have further been influenced by reading many books on different cultures and the historical contents of these cultures on art.  Recently I have been most influenced by the Buddhist designed aesthetic known as Wabi Sabi.   This cultural impact on art led me to the Japanese prints of the 17th and 18th century.  Why the Japanese?  The answer is simply because they have long been known for their reach for perfect harmony and balance in composition and design.   The Japanese prints themselves led me into my interest in print making which added to the mixed media layering of my current work. 

 

The work I am presenting is representative of my views on how nature creates layers upon itself.  Through the use of mixed media materials such as oil paint, natural fiber bark, and rice paper prints, I have not simply limited the work to just two dimensions.  The work has a depth that doesn't sit flat on the canvas.  It projects both out into the viewer's space and back into the work itself.  Textures and colors are intertwined to weave the influences nature plays on my work, but the tight restrictions of the straight lines and repeated patterns express the further influences made by the Japanese prints of the past.  The materials used provide a blend that controls the chaos of nature and the meticulous details of the design prints placed within the works themselves.