Stemming from a fascination with hauntingly sublime, diverse and sometimes threatening landscapes that surround us, my recent series of paintings and works on paper studies environmental transitions. The work is inspired by geologically dynamic locations of California. I'm captivated by the effects of light and weather on the rugged Northern California coastline, the blinding reflection of the sun on the water and the diffuse ocean fog and interested in the ways that light can distort perception. I explored the Eastern Sierras where I was drawn to the geological forces at work both above and below the earth’s surface. Hot springs, geysers, volcanoes, active fault lines, dry desert valleys below sea level and densely forested mountains summiting at 14,500ft with temperatures that are dangerous at opposite ends of hot and cold can be experienced in a single day. The new work encompasses a great loop of California as reference, as far south as the Salton Sea and north to Sea Ranch.
I process the unpredictable natural manifestations and surprising juxtapositions that I have observed by physically composing and manipulating materials. I begin by painting and staining satin, silk, velvet, and metallic fabrics with ink and acrylic paint. The effects of the liquid pigment on fabric parallel the powerful geological processes my work explores: in some places the forms are dense and saturated, while in others the pigment seeps and splashes. Once painted, I cut the fabric into strips and embed them in layers of more paint and pigment on canvas, wood panels or paper to create striated compositions.
Like tectonic plates pushing past one another, the fabric bands are offset to create fragmented forms that mimic the kinetic energy of natural processes. The disjunction of forms also allows me to show multiple perspectives at once, simultaneously capturing what is occurring above and below ground as well as from the car windows and rearview mirrors. Finally, the discontinuous bands of fabric suspend and intertwine different moments in time, much like a filmstrip that has been spliced together.
Once the background for more concentrated investigations, the idea of a limitless landscape has become my focus with this body of work. I observed the possibilities of our constantly evolving environment and discovered elemental connections between seemingly disparate locales of California. In the process I found that my own perspective had also shifted towards something larger and more fundamental.
I process the unpredictable natural manifestations and surprising juxtapositions that I have observed by physically composing and manipulating materials. I begin by painting and staining satin, silk, velvet, and metallic fabrics with ink and acrylic paint. The effects of the liquid pigment on fabric parallel the powerful geological processes my work explores: in some places the forms are dense and saturated, while in others the pigment seeps and splashes. Once painted, I cut the fabric into strips and embed them in layers of more paint and pigment on canvas, wood panels or paper to create striated compositions.
Like tectonic plates pushing past one another, the fabric bands are offset to create fragmented forms that mimic the kinetic energy of natural processes. The disjunction of forms also allows me to show multiple perspectives at once, simultaneously capturing what is occurring above and below ground as well as from the car windows and rearview mirrors. Finally, the discontinuous bands of fabric suspend and intertwine different moments in time, much like a filmstrip that has been spliced together.
Once the background for more concentrated investigations, the idea of a limitless landscape has become my focus with this body of work. I observed the possibilities of our constantly evolving environment and discovered elemental connections between seemingly disparate locales of California. In the process I found that my own perspective had also shifted towards something larger and more fundamental.
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