Working Process

I challenge myself with the fundamental elements of painting, with its nature and with its materials. The only goal that I am consciously aware of is that I wish to create a dialogue with every piece. Every painting small or large must speak its own language, achieve its own personality and not simply be an equivalent or plagiarism of a previous work. To realize this each piece must be innately complex without being complicated.

I use oil paint and mix it with an alkyd medium to control the drying time. Sandpaper is as important a tool for me as my brushes and pallet knives; what is removed is as subtly controlled as that which is applied. The canvas is stretched directly to the wall allowing the entire surface to be worked; the edges of my canvases are as valuable to me as the rest of the painting and given equal emphasis.

Color has always attracted me and over the years I have strived to extract every value and hue available in color, no matter how immense the challenge. Because color is the first impression made upon the spectator, many assume that my priority in painting is that of a colorist. However I believe color is only a tool by which volume, form and light can be harnessed or unleashed.

I apply pigment with a metal spatula and pull or scrape over the canvas, oftentimes leaving evidence of this process with masked or dripped pigment. Every layer of paint is sanded when dry, which allows for the color of the previous layer to be exposed beneath and of course I can control the degree to which these color layers are revealed by the pressure and extent of the sanding. Through this process a dense, smooth surface emerges (sadly lost in slide and digital reproduction) which is an integral part of my finished work. The result is an extremely tactile surface I accentuate with various textures by using brush strokes and different grains of sandpaper.

The color of the pigment changes when sanded and again this is another way to challenge and exploit the material. Pigment sanded becomes matt and translucent and pigment not sanded glossy and opaque. Because of these qualities I am able to manipulate extremely subtle changes in light within the painting and light reflecting from the painting.

Composition is a primary concern. I believe all colors, textures, and sheens have the capacity for harmony if their composition is honest. In the last few years I’ve made a conscious decision to challenge myself with compositions that must work truthfully in any direction the art is hung. Therefore, while I am composing my paintings I continually turn the canvas, shifting its polarity. (This is also the process I employ in constructing my collages and drawings) My intention is that the painting be a success when displayed in any of its four rotated positions. The favored choice is then afforded to the viewer’s subjectivity.

Over time my paintings build up many, many layers through these additions and subtractions. Order and form gradually unite until a harmony is revealed between the materials and the elements they have fashioned. The final layer is that of the spectator, observing and extracting what remains of my process.