Artist Statement

Nature is constantly in a state of destruction and regrowth. Mankind as a species and on an individual level, is also continually destroying and creating.  Is it because we are nature and if so, why are we destroying the thing that we are made of, and that has made us?  It could be that this tenancy is hardwired within us?  It is possible that we can not help but destroy all that we make?  These are circular questions and this circularity is often part of my composition. 

I find the patterns that occur in nature to be overwhelmingly beautiful and endlessly fascinating. When I first heard about the Fibonacci sequence and it’s appearance in biological settings, it blew me away.  I felt like there was mathematic proof of what I had been seeing for so long in the patterns of nature.  I see a similar beauty in the patterns found in what man has constructed; from the pattern of a circuit board to the layout of our city streets.  I am interested in how similar these natural and the manmade patterns are.

From a technical standpoint, I work in a very meticulous manner and believe strongly in creating well-crafted objects. I paint thickly, though realistically, with oil on wood constructions that I design and build.  In the past my work has been three dimensional, somewhat like an image in a pop up book.  I have occasionally employed mechanical or electrical components.  Most of my more recent pieces incorporate a found object that I have built into the wooden construction of the paintings. I chose these objects because they illustrate my idea in a very elemental way. 

The objects I use are always old and usually metal or wood.  There is something very satisfying about giving new life to that which has been rendered useless or obsolete.  I like to think of all the people who’s lives have intersected with these rusty old bits.  I wonder if some trace of them has been left upon the objects.  By this logic these new pieces have within them old souls.  This is comforting to me.  I hope that others can sense this as well.