Tying My Memories into Landscape
History does not dictate the future, it informs it. I do not strive to be avant-garde, nor am I reactive or conservative in my aims. Rather, I work through ideas and scenes of personal interest, shaped by a rich lineage of painters whose work has informed my artistic vision.
My understanding of color relationships and compositional structure has been influenced by Fairfield Porter’s approach to everyday scenes. Edward Hopper’s treatment of light, shadow, and architectural space has shaped how I think about atmosphere and psychological weight in painting. Sigmar Polke’s material experimentation and Gerhard Richter’s exploration of the relationship between photography and painting have both informed my technical approach. Andrew Wyeth’s ability to find emotional depth in overlooked spaces resonates with my own interests in the American landscape.
Throughout my everyday life, I record the people and places which attract my gaze with a camera or on paper. By using drawing as the first step of a painting, I establish the fundamental structure of an image, then build layers of paint to create mood and fulfill the needs of the composition. The images I create reveal their source while honoring the material aspects of paint; every layer exposing the work’s history. The scenes depicted become a compilation of my experiences: a lone oil rig on the plains, an abandoned building, the wide expanses passed in a life in transit.
My practice seeks to capture what is important to me because it is what I know and what I desire, creating work that is both personally meaningful and universally accessible. The visual elements of the image remain paramount, requiring no extensive academic background to appreciate, yet rewarding careful observation with deeper layers of meaning.
