These are some examples of my current paintings. Having been an expressionist landscape painter for over twenty years it has always been my intention to discover just how much power there is in color. When we respond to a particular color we are seeing it in relationship to the colors around it, the measure of contrast. When working with color it is very important to understand how to contrast by degree. The intensity of a given color exists in it's relationship to the colors that are around it. I like to work towards a three dimensional effect not so much by traditional methods of perspective or sharpness of detail but by arranging the large areas of a piece into layers of color which have the ability to push forward or backward. I like to see colors seperate into different layers.
Any path,road, river, or stairway has always made a good theme in arranging compositions for me, which intimate a place to be. To me that is the objective of art; a place to go to, an experience to have. All that we do in life is an event which happens according to which path we choose. Painting has been the path I have chosen and although it has been a difficult path at times, it is one I am grateful to have the opportunity to be able to pursue. The only real success that I can claim as a painter is the fact that I have been able to continue working and sometimes, learning; that financially successful or not I have been able to make this my habit. For it is in making the work of painting a habit that makes it an individual expression. It is more important to me to learn how be myself in my work instead of learning how to paint like someone else. It is important and inspiring to learn from others; the more influences that we can bring into our own work the more it reflects our own individual taste and uniqueness.
It has taken me years to learn to get by with less in terms of color. These paintings all represent different palettes built on two, three, four or five color combinations based on musical intervals. It has always been an interesting challenge to find new and exciting color compositions which have the ability to express the emotional context of a place and time. It is in seeing all the different possible combinations that can be used in contrast to realize the potential of any application of color. Another area of contrast that appeals to me, which unfortunately doesn't show on a computer screen, is finding a balance between matte and gloss finishes. I began painting in acrylics for practical reasons at the time, but over the years I found that I really preferred acrylics as a medium for their ability to finish in a nice texture of flat and gloss without the need for a final varnish.
