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The painting asserts itself in an entirely different way than the photograph. A photograph is merely passive, a cold mechanical record of a moment in time. A painting, however, results from a physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual interaction with the image. Everything within the painting enters through my eye to be absorbed, and then is consciously manifested through my hand. It is ultimately a process of internalization and communion. The resulting painting is the physical record of the act of internalization.
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Three Eggs, Oil, 24x36
My work begins by photographically recording chance encounters with places and objects outside of my daily routine. Together, the unfamiliarity of the subject matter, and the distance created by the photograph create an objectivity that allows me to see the inherent beauty of these vignettes unencumbered by the learned affinity, apathy or disdain that one who is more familiar with them might feel. The subject matter often feels taboo to my understanding of what art is, yet the newly created images of them feel seductive. A kewpie doll or an oil refinery interest me very little as a rule. Yet, as I happen upon these things in a particular moment, their placement, context and lighting stir me. I’m caught by the unintentional relationships that arise between these intentionally placed objects. They suggest things. They imply narrative, emotion, or perhaps a sense of theatre with their bright color and harsh light. They pull you in, and their newly rendered form reveals a hidden life that went unnoticed when they sat upon the truck stop shelf.
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I love to play with the delicate balance between reality/photography/and painting in my process. The captured photographic image interests me more than the original objects, yet the photograph seems insufficient on its’ own. I love the tell tale signs of photography: blurred edges, double images, red edges between dark and light, and harsh cropping. They seem to add a sense of otherworldliness to the subject matter, yet as photographs, those signs don’t feel incorporated into the imagery. The average viewer would ignore them and try to see the image in spite of them. So I take the photographic image and translate it with utmost care into a painting. Once painted, those charming, mysterious telltale signs of photography become fully integrated into the image.
Untitled(Economy), Oil, 36"x24"
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