untamed florals, charcoal ramblings on paper
Driving Home Series, Landscapes from the Ozarks
For the past five years, I have lived in a small rural town of St. Paul, Arkansas on the edge of the Ozark National Forrest. We are 30 miles from any conveniences such as a grocery store or fuel. Although beautiful and quiet, the drive along highway 16 is at times tedious especially traveling to the closest town of Fayetteville to visit friends, family and work. I was starting to resent the drive when I decided to shift my attitude toward a more positive experience. I begin to find inspiration along the road and photograph the daily journey. My feelings of the Ozark countryside begin to grow into a love affair with the ever turning road and miles of mountain farmland. The magically skies that now bring me delight are the main source of my inspiration along with the ever changing color palettes of light. In my paintings, I do not strive for a likeness in a technical sense of being realistic. I abstract the forms and create layer upon layers of paint, charcoal, plaster, graphite, oil and chalk pastel to give the piece depth, texture and history. I strive for a sense of poetic stillness and appreciation of my environment along with playful splashes of freedom and joy.
5,000 Flowers Series, Florals & Botanicals
Flowers have been a constant source of inspiration for artists and audiences alike for centuries. With subtle imperfections, delicacy, and determination each floral bloom speaks evidence of its own triumph and unquestionable beauty. The blossom is plucked from a creator and arranged in a symphony of color and texture to celebrate human life events such as a wedding, birthday or funeral. Then, just as quickly as it was created, the beautiful bouquet decomposes into a memory. By creating a bouquet portrait, I am able to freeze this moment in time and capture the essence of the joys and sorrows surrounding them. In my paintings, I do not strive for a likeness in a technical sense. I abstract the forms and create layer upon layers of paint, charcoal, plaster, graphite, oil and chalk pastel to give the piece depth and texture. Influenced by Bobbie Burgers’ elegant dripping blooms, I push the limits of the paint to extend and build up the layers of opaque and the translucent to tell the story of time. My pieces feel and look like they have weathered many storms, but that they are all the more beautiful because they endured and survived.
The sometimes kitschy and stale depictions of this subject matter begs the questions, “Is it possible to do something new and thought provoking without being trite?” In the Spring of 2018, I was compelled to push my art further by challenging myself to create 5,000 individual floral paintings. With this experiment, I plan to thrust my art into a new realm of creations by investigating every floral painting technique to see if a new depiction is possible. A ledger documents each one of the series with size, medium, purchaser’s information and date. At this current hour, I have created 350 of 5,000. I will continue to explore the emotional connection that surrounds floral bouquets with subtle choices in technique, aesthetics, color and composition by studying contemporary and historically significant artists.
The sometimes kitschy and stale depictions of this subject matter begs the questions, “Is it possible to do something new and thought provoking without being trite?” In the Spring of 2018, I was compelled to push my art further by challenging myself to create 5,000 individual floral paintings. With this experiment, I plan to thrust my art into a new realm of creations by investigating every floral painting technique to see if a new depiction is possible. A ledger documents each one of the series with size, medium, purchaser’s information and date. At this current hour, I have created 350 of 5,000. I will continue to explore the emotional connection that surrounds floral bouquets with subtle choices in technique, aesthetics, color and composition by studying contemporary and historically significant artists.
