Artist Statement

My work is an exploration and celebration of the formal aspects of painting. I focus on observing how light and shadow interact with my subject and through this observation I analyze how these patterns of light and shadow come together to create what my eyes see and what my brain perceives. By focusing on seeing the subtleties of color and value, I give myself a new method of looking at and documenting the world around me. This abstract concept of learning to see is what drives me to paint.

I approach realism with a painterly style, feeding off of the energy and immediacy of my process. My representational process begins with umbers to organize the placement of objects and figures on my canvas as well as to break the forms down into simple patterns of value. Once complete, I move on to color and begin massing out areas in the light with local color. I then move on to observing and documenting highlights, half-tones, reflected lights, cores of shadow, and many other formal aspects to round out and fully represent my subject. Through the analyzation of form, I observe, document, and experience my subject gaining a deep understanding and appreciation for the beauty of the natural world.