The inspiration
The ability to find beauty in the world around us and within each soul is a source of hope. Aren't we all seeking hope? The figures I paint express the grace of the human form entwined with the grace of natural forms. The balance of beauty and decay in nature fascinates me. The light that glows in human flesh and makes things grow is also in the dark earth, moving through the dead and dying, regenerating into life again. My emphasis on color and making it glow is an effort to cultivate hope by seeking the light within.
The Process
My artistic process places more importance on intensity of emotion through color as light and flowing compositions and less importance on the persona or likeness of the figure–flesh tone is not as important to me as communicating dramatic lighting in pure color. The dynamic serpentine poses and background forms that echo the figure add to the flow of emotion as do the gestural paint strokes of transparent layers that create a certain glow. The use of a bold underpainting showing through in flecks of light, when used in combination with warm and cool or complimentary colors, causes a visual mixing where colors are achieved that are not possible in opaque paint. Color–color as light– and color as human form–connect humanity–through emotion. And connection is the goal.
Artwork Themes & Subject Matter
As a contemporary realist, I seek to represent the figure as it would appear in space. I definitely take artistic liberty to place the figure in a type of fantasy or fantastical natural space. This creates a kind of narrative with nature that, when combined with idealized color relationships, tends to feel romanticized. This romantic ideal is accentuated by the movement in the dramatic poses of the figures which are definitely influenced by my love of Art Nouveau.
The theme of my current work is life and light, decay, and a glimmer of hope. The contrasts of light and dark, pure and muddled, growth and decay, beauty and ugliness, are part of the human experience and I believe these contrasts are what make a piece feel complete. Like any good story about hope, you need some dark for the light to shine brighter. It is also fitting that nature finds new life in the decay of life already lived. My dark expressive line work mimics sparse vegetation, adds contrast to the beauty of the figure, and directs the composition adding to the feeling of triumph over some darkness.
Time and place is irrelevant to my pieces. The idea that it could be any time combined with the abstract nature of the environment means it could also be any place which makes the artwork more relatable. This also allows the Expressionist nature of the intense colors and loose strokes to take importance over the exact narrative. I also use nudes because they are no longer confined by period wardrobe. I use drapery for compositional means. It can add just the color pop I need without compromising the timeless beauty of the figure. The use of draped figures can feel classical, which is just fine given that my process of layering transparent colors is very traditional.
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