My work has
been shaped and informed by small, yet startling and timely exposures
to images of
landscapes and portrait paintings by American artists
such
as GeorgeBellows, Edward Hopper,
John Sloan and John Singer
Sargent. My identification withthe painting quality of these artists
has
proven to be more intuitive than specific in detail. I did not
seek out these artists’ paintings, but
came upon them in
by chance, and all without preconception or knowledge of their work.
I was
moved not only by the spiritual connection to the subject matter
that each of these artists portrayed,
but by the masterly painting
style.
As a culture, we have a rich and oft times overlooked heritage
of representational painting. There
is beauty in representational
painting, and there is spirit. There is the power to immediately
connect with
the viewer and when done well, the power to surprise and give pause.
Traditional and representational approaches to painting have not
only served me well through the
power of living observation,
but allowing me a reference point from which to develop as an
intrepretive/gestural painter.
Included here are three areas of focus: plein air watercolors,
portraiture, and my most recent
"gestural watercolor" work.
All are included as each form of painting discipline informs
the other,
and all are an integral part of providing a foundation
from which to continue to explore a changing
environmental and
figurative landscape. |