Artist Statement
Car Paintings
California exists as a place where one sees the world through the car window. I see the front windshield of my car as a viewfinder. My favorite time of day is the twilight- when the sky turns electric blue, and the colors fade from palm trees into black. Each painting shows the passage of time. A time stamp is often seen at the top of the paintings. Along with the passing minutes, the light and colors change, as do the positions of the various cars. I see this series as a group of film stills…recording motion, while capturing one individual moment in time.
I paint with as few strokes as possible. I use a dark background with a bright fluorescent pallet in the foreground. I often paint wet into wet, permitting one element to flow into another. I spray paint through bottles to create the ever-present haze of fog in air. These paintings reflect the fluidity and energy of the Southern California landscape. As a painter, I seek to convey both nature’s horror and surreal beauty.
Fire Paintings
Unfortunately due to global warming, the frequency and severity of wildfires has greatly increased. In 2017, I was in Santa Barbara, as the Thomas Fire grew closer. When the flames appeared in the hillside above our city, we had to evacuate. Without warning my subject matter felt almost too real to want to paint. The photos I took during the month of December when the fire was so close continue to inform this body of work.