Artistic Intent
I call myself an “experimental watercolorist.” I do so because my approach to the medium is anything but traditional.
My paintings are combinations of layered colors, movements and various textures on traditional watercolor papers and on surfaces such as Yupo and Terra-Skin. I use a variety of materials to create texture: plastic wrap, waxed paper, masking fluid, salt, and spray bottles with water or alcohol. I move the pigment with various tools including brushes, combs, squeegees, and palette knives. Finally, I add lines and marks with ink or graphite.
The method creates a “give-and-take relationship” that emerges and guides my work. I start with ideas about color, texture, line, and composition. This process promotes an interchange between the painting and me. This dialog is not a new artistic concept, and at the risk of being trite, this conversation happens when I paint. For example, in the last year or so, I’ve started to draw on top of my paintings. I realize that when I create lines on my work, I engage in a deliberate process of emphasizing the topography of the painting while using inks or graphite. Often this revelation in structure becomes a meta-cognitive and unifying experience. So in a sense there is an intense communication between the painting and me.
In my work I have always been conscious of creating a dichotomy: soft edge/hard edge; straight mark/curved mark; warm tones/cool tones while using color and line. These paintings are a synopsis of my experimentation and exploration of pigment, texture and lines.
The artwork is the result of my interpretation of the communication that happens during the process of painting. For me, there is a story that is woven into the creation of my painting. In the end these patterns, symbols and maps will be discovered by the viewer. My intent is for viewers to create an association, or an interpretation of the painting that triggers a narrative all their own.
My paintings are combinations of layered colors, movements and various textures on traditional watercolor papers and on surfaces such as Yupo and Terra-Skin. I use a variety of materials to create texture: plastic wrap, waxed paper, masking fluid, salt, and spray bottles with water or alcohol. I move the pigment with various tools including brushes, combs, squeegees, and palette knives. Finally, I add lines and marks with ink or graphite.
The method creates a “give-and-take relationship” that emerges and guides my work. I start with ideas about color, texture, line, and composition. This process promotes an interchange between the painting and me. This dialog is not a new artistic concept, and at the risk of being trite, this conversation happens when I paint. For example, in the last year or so, I’ve started to draw on top of my paintings. I realize that when I create lines on my work, I engage in a deliberate process of emphasizing the topography of the painting while using inks or graphite. Often this revelation in structure becomes a meta-cognitive and unifying experience. So in a sense there is an intense communication between the painting and me.
In my work I have always been conscious of creating a dichotomy: soft edge/hard edge; straight mark/curved mark; warm tones/cool tones while using color and line. These paintings are a synopsis of my experimentation and exploration of pigment, texture and lines.
The artwork is the result of my interpretation of the communication that happens during the process of painting. For me, there is a story that is woven into the creation of my painting. In the end these patterns, symbols and maps will be discovered by the viewer. My intent is for viewers to create an association, or an interpretation of the painting that triggers a narrative all their own.