I am an oil painter, painting the beauty I have found in the everyday. My paintings are representational and large, often larger than my wingspan. Their size signifies for me the abundance of life. And, because I see and thus express these everyday moments as exceptional, I also make them expressive in color and thick, luscious paint. I share the majesty that I see in my surroundings within a space of figurative intimacy. This is why I am painting.
I start by recognizing a feeling, a mood, a moment, or even a shape that moves me. Then I look for the scene or objects that will help me bring these feelings out. I draw initially to find the essence of these feelings in order to really see. And then I paint from those drawings, getting and thus getting out the whole emotion I am exploring. I always paint on an un-stretched canvas that is nailed to a rigid wall where there is no give, allowing me to have total control over every mark. When I sense that the painting is finished, I then stretch the canvas onto stretcher bars, decorating moments all over that the newly stretched canvas reveals to me to be needing just a little more. All these steps, from thinking and feeling to drawing, painting, and finishing, allow me to connect organically to each painting, satisfying the fullness of feeling I am pursuing. With all elements, I am always seeking pure awe.
By creating art that others can easily relate to while at the same time offering the beauty I have experienced from these personal revelations, I am living through my art and whole heartedly connecting with others.
