My work is representational. The subject-matter is natural objects paired with man-made objects; the objects are primarily chosen for their relationship to each other in regards to shape and form. Most would place my work in the realm of surrealism; I understand, and resist, that label and would say the work leans more towards the magic realism genre. I am informed by a cadre of artists including Jean-Baptiste Chardin, the 17th c Dutch still life painters, Paul Cezzane, John Singer-Sargent, Giorgio de Chirico, Raoul Hynckes, Euan Uglow, and Conor Walton.
The man-made objects I prefer to use are, or at one time were, considered useful, such as hand-tools. Color is also important to the work, as is the way in which the light effects the objects. In my paintings I am looking for a classic traditional look with a visual anomaly that does not correspond with the traditional portrayal of a given scene. My intent with the images is to portray recollections of scenes remembered from dream states and/or that of which are the products of the subconscious, rather than direct depictions of scenes. My goal is to invoke a visual moment for the viewer that is both familiar and simultaneously does not conform to the expected. What I am attempting to achieve is expressed well by a passage from Lao Tzu’s Art of War “Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment ¾ that which they cannot anticipate.”
In the work, as previously stated, I like using hand-tools and utilitarian items, the items are placed in relationship with natural items (fruit, vegetables, food stuffs, etc.); the items are positioned to have some interplay with each other within the composition. The paintings are started with an under-drawing and then paint is applied through multiple sessions. I work the lighting of the subject to give a broad range of values, within these values I like to play with color. My “color play” is experimenting with the idea that colors can be substituted for each other, as long as the chosen value of a color corresponds with the value of the area in which I am attempting to depict. The use of light and the quality of light in the image is important to the work and is used to give a sense of atmosphere. This work is related to previous explorations I had made; using traditional photography, I photographed scaled drawings of a set-up on black flocked paper and double-exposed that with the image of the actual set-up; the intent was the blending two disparate mediums, two disparate worlds.
All of the above has been highly influenced by the many years I worked as a commercial photographer. The working of the lighting, the decisions made on the placement of objects in the scene, deriving an atmosphere from the quality of light, the interplay of color, and the method of composition are the direct result of my time spent in a commercial photo studio and a lifetime behind the camera. When I paint, I am striving to bring all of the above elements together in a cohesive manner; when they come together, for me, the painting is “right.” I have read that even the most stringent of scientific researchers reaches a “Zen”-like conclusion, in which they determine that they have gathered enough information and garnered enough insight to supply validity to their research. My methodology for determining completion of a piece follows a similar path; with completion there comes that “…smell of napalm in the morning…” moment, you know, “…it smells like, …it smells like ¾ victory.” (Coppola, Herr, Milius 1979) It is the satisfying feeling that I can do no more to progress the painting and it is complete; Victory. I have won the battle, but not the war.
Moving forward in development of further work, my efforts are always placed towards exploring methodologies and styles, playing with the application of paint, refining my draftsmanship, and investigating compositional ideas.