In my work, the past is always present. Story and cinema, song and symbol, landscape and legends have shaped both our real and imagined view of the American West. Native Americans, Lewis and Clark, Remington, Russell and dime store magazines were our first Western storytellers; song, photography and film soon added to the mix — and mythology. How the real and imagined collide in our hearts and minds defines my work. I start each piece on location, looking directly into the sun. The wide open West — its ranches, rodeos, and vintage Main Street — are my stage. With details obscured, I look for strong, iconic silhouettes. In my studio, working on wood panel, glass and steel, I use processes similar to Warhol and Rauschenberg. For my “Geography of Hope” series I use the silhouette as a window into the West, with color fields and images conveying a story within a story. Often, I weave “Old West” elements like vintage wall paper designs, typography and other symbols with modern day Western moment. It’s that push and pull of time, of real and romanticized, that I’m chasing.