2014 Portfolio

Chance has two meanings; in English it can mean accident or hazard. In French "avoir de la chance" means to be lucky. I have questioned for a very, very long time if there is a destiny for us or is it completely blind; the push pull between accident, destiny and luck.

I have a color and spatial sketch in my mind before starting my painting. I begin by pouring the colors onto the surface of the background in various shapes and patterns. The shapes and forms emerge through the constant blending and manipulation of the paint; interlacing forms, bows and curves that constantly intersect to produce spatial structures which could be altered endlessly.

To cause something to change and flow, to make it relative suites me. I edit out and build upon what I feel is working. Sometimes when images come about by chance they are fresher more organic, more inevitably. Instinct takes charge. The composition of different forms, colors, structures, proportions, harmonies, etc. comes out as an abstract system analogous to music. Letting a thing come, rather then following a precise plan can be more genuine, richer, and more alive. Music filters into my work, like lines of dialogue. The rawness of experiencing sounds, from Mozart to Dylan, is what I try to translate into a visual vocabulary. Music relies on an established structure, one that allows for infinite expression of guttural emotion. That liberty within form inspires my own explorations in painting. Feelings, sensations produce a specific emotional effect.

The editing process...creating form from chaos...is at the heart of my art, but that involves the exercise of critical judgment, an aspect of creativity. In the beginning of a creative effort, a period of uncertainty is a helpful state of affairs.