“Disintegration of the Bull”
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After graduating from Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, I returned to New England and my home state of Maine. In the years to follow I took time to complete two paintings each year furthering my studies and interests of abstract art which in turn lead me towards abstract expressionism.
My study focused on the use of heavy black lines and color fields to create movement and depth upon a two dimensional surface. My goal is to create kinetic energy and engaging compositions which engage and capture the viewer for varying moments of time. Through this viewing process I hope that these individuals may share a connection or come away with some emotional response. Whether the response is positive or negative matters not as the painting remains physically unaffected, although these responses do directly reflect the position of the work within the art world.
During the the late summer and early fall of 2008 I completed seven pieces that were a direct result from my focused study, and this collection of work culminated in the creation of two pieces: the first titled “The Bull” and the second “Disintegration of the Bull” a further abstraction of the first composition.
With the completion of the above mentioned compositions, I then immediately turned my attention towards my fascination with the surrealists and a rekindled interest in religion, the symbolism, and the broad influences that it has had on the formation of art in the western world and likewise upon man’s destiny itself. I am fascinated with modern painting as a way to create hallucinations, as if the viewer were looking through some sort of lens or dream viewing device. I borrow cues and subject matter extracted from Early Christian/Byzantine art and the great masterworks of the renaissance and rococo artists, as well as the intense psychological and erotic subjects of the surrealists, i.e. Salvador Dali. Approaching these subjects in a modern way presents a myriad of challenges: Will the symbolism and subjects translate to todays viewer, and is the viewer even familiar with them? How do I approach such static symbolism in a distinctive and kinetic manner? Will I be able to convince the viewer that what they are seeing is tangible? Can I be unique in my approach and become technically proficient?
During the last two years I have completed three such paintings. My intention has been to capture the viewer through intense rendering and detail using many layers of almost magazine thin paint as well as through obvious and hidden meanings contained within the compositions.
This process is very time consuming and for myself psychologically exhausting as one must concentrate fully on the painting taking place and the drying time of different layers to achieve any given effect. These paintings maintain a dreamlike and hallucinatory quality; they take place in a sparse uncultivated landscape, a desert or some other dimension.
Painting allows me to explore and unite both my physical universe as well as the universe that exists within my mind- the first being my eye to the physical world expressed through my hand on canvas, the other extracts ideas from memories, experiences, dreams, and the desires that we all have in life. – One consciously speaking to me in daydreams and an inner dialogue, the other drawing from the subconscious reaction to my life up to that point through dreams during sleep.
“Allegory of the Trinity” 2008-09
This painting was started in fall of 2008, and finished in november of 2009. The second of my surrealist style paintings, there were over 450 hours spent on this piece,including sketches and canvas preperation. The title lends some insight to the subject matter and content of the piece.