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Durham Art Guild Artist-in-Residence. painter
Suite 3-138
I have spent a lot of time questioning the value and meaning of art. I think most artists have as well. I have come to believe that what is best about art is the way it connects us to something greater than ourselves.
I have been sitting zazen and practicing mindfulness since 2001 and this has deeply influenced my artwork and reason for making art. The creation of art is, as is the appreciation of art, a matter of attention. It is my hope that my artwork is entirely ordinary, just as a flower or the next breath of air is entirely ordinary and yet precious. It is my hope that when viewing my work one attends to it in the same way one might attend to a moment of natural beauty: with an inner quiet, an open appreciation, and a lack of expectation.
My work has also been influenced by artists such as Motherwell, Rothko, Mondrian, Ad Reinhart, Hans Hofmann and Franz Kline. The composition of each painting is created as a whole in a similar way one might write a word or calligraphic mark. I believe spontaneity is practiced. For each successful composition there are many preliminary attempts. Generally, if after a first attempt I find the structure displeasing I recreate the composition as a whole, rather than attempt to work on it in separate and disjointed parts. This preliminary structure is temporarily sketched using water on a solid color canvas, most often a black canvas. Once I am satisfied with the image I quickly fix the temporary lines using black paint. Working black on black and with water allows and element of chance to enter the work and requires unhesitating, decisive decisions otherwise the water or paint will dry and the basic structure of the painting may be lost. Once the basic frame work for the painting is painted in black, I proceed to fill in the resulting shapes and areas with color. This is often the longest period of the painting process as I am constantly working and reworking the relationships between colors.
I received my BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1999 and previously taught at ArtCenter (2003) and the Durham Arts Council (2005-2006). In 2008, I was awarded the Durham Art Guild's studio residency program at Golden Belt.
Recent Exhibitions (2008):
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| Study for Memento Mori II | Untitled | Memento Mori I | |||
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