“Haystack Rock, Dusk” pastel on paper, 11 x 8.5″.
My work is driven by three related aesthetics: the inherent abstraction within nature, simplified shapes, and light.
Though my work is semi-abstract, I remain grounded in realism. I begin with something from the visible world and try to “capture” it as faithfully as I can. Yet, I know full well that I am chasing something ineffable — like light or atmosphere — that can never truly be captured with colored pigments.
A painting may reach a viewer in different parts of their mind. One part responds to things we can name like “buildings,” or “trees,” or the narrative itself. Another part responds to aesthetics such as color, light, or movement. This is the part of the mind I want to reach. I consider a painting most successful when the viewer is struck by these aesthetics before they can identify the actual subject.
Color harmony is also a core instinct for me. The landscape, with its atmosphere and colored light, is an ideal subject with which to pursue this interest. If I cannot make all the colors in the painting feel as if they are bound together through a unifying color of light, then I will not consider the painting entirely successful. Each of my paintings has a distinct color chord, which is meant to convey a particular color of light or time of day. When a viewer says that the painting “glows,” I consider it the highest compliment.
Golden Triad, 2022, oil on panel, 10.5″ x 14″.
In my Azure and Asphalt series, I bring my interest in abstraction and unified light to the urban landscape. These works explore the abstract patterns formed by reflected light on the streets and rooftops at sunset. These works strike a delicate balance between simplification and detail: I have to include enough visual cues to make it clear to the viewer that it is an urban landscape, but few enough that it doesn’t distract from my primary interest, which are the abstract patterns and the light.
In 2017, I began working in pastel, which afforded me a chance to work with broken color more easily than I had been able to in oil. The subjects of my pastels were familiar — semi-abstract horizons, filled with light and atmopshere. These works can be seen in the Pastels Lightscapes portfolio.
