Flowers of the Mind - acrylic on canvas |
Love - acrylic on canvas
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Euphoria - acrylic on canvas |
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ON PAINTING
"I often think of my works as mirrors. In each of them I see myself looking back at me. Each represents something I was, am, or will be. They are an exploration of the human condition.
Painting for me is a search for truth within myself, a truth about life, death, and spirituality, among other things. The process of painting helps me better understand who I am and my purpose here. I have come to feel as though painting is my religion. I say that because it is where I go to look for answers. It is where I go to find something to believe in, to heal, and to become a better person. Painting is the only thing in my life that I do not question…it just is.
I would love to say that I paint because I love to paint. This is true sometimes, but the reality is much more complicated. I paint out of fear of not painting for the most part.
With each painting I attempt to create an emotional experience for myself of epic proportions. Because this is not always possible, some works fail…in fact many works fail, and will not ever be seen by anyone but me. Each work that I do show is a record of a unique emotional journey. I rarely plan works… I find that for me, planning usually dilutes any possibility of capturing what is happening inside me. I get better results from my work when I paint out of impulse. I try not to become mechanical or repetitive with the paintings…unless repetition is required to fully explore the emotion I am entangled with.
While these works are a reflection of my inner struggles, I do hope that viewers are confronted by something in themselves when exploring my works. As I said, I feel as though they are mirrors... when people look into them I would like them to find an image of themselves…not of me." |
