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Artist's Statement
I have a strong history of
drawing in my career. I often use drawings as starting points
for my paintings, referencing them for ideas in compositions
and rhythms. My most recent work has focused upon movement
with multiple figures, springing from ideas I had while
teaching figure drawing during graduate school a few years
ago. My interest with movement also comes from my interest
in dance and the martial arts training I am involved in.
I am fascinated by movement, patterns, and fluctuating changes
of shapes, which I feel take precedence over representative
depictions of the human form.
In regard to my multiple figure
paintings, I'm drawn to the abstraction found in muscle
groupings and how shapes are defined within the figure and
the spaces surrounding it. I attempt to capture the essence
of the figure's movement without resorting to excessive
detail. The changing abstract shapes of a moving figure
create interesting rhythms and patterns. I strive for melding
movement that comes as a result of color and shape with
the movement that comes from recording the figure in motion.
My paintings tend to be large,
giving me freedom for more movement in my brushwork and
other applications of paint. In addition, the larger size
allows me the room to deal with multiple figure arrangements
and a greater space to work more aggressively in suggesting
gesture and movement of the figures.
I've been influenced by the abstraction found in Willem
De Kooning's and Richard Diebenkorn's paintings. I'm influenced
by the way Lucian Freud and Jenny Saville treat the subject
of the figure. I'm influenced by Franz Kline's direct approach
to abstraction and his vigorous gestural way of establishing
shape and form.
My hope is that my paintings
have both the representational and the abstract working
cohesively. Although my paintings have representational
elements, those elements are subordinate to abstraction
and the formal fundamentals of painting.
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