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Art is about communicating, first of all, with self and later the listener, the viewer. It is about communicating through emotions in one form or another, reaching out and if successful, connecting with and resonating with-in the viewer. I want to create this sort of communication by presenting paintings that are open ended, open to the viewers entering, engagement and imagination. I am after a presence that transcends whatever illusion suggests itself, a presence that constitutes the expression of the painting.
What the viewer sees', reads, connects with, perhaps recognizes, his or her own meaning, depends on that persons' experiences. There is a certain amount of illusion of physical space and form, which serves as metaphor for what intriques me most- exploration of the landscape, the environment, it's complexities, it's enigma. I paint ' Not the thing, but the effect it produces.' to quote the french writer Mallarme. What this 'effect' means to me is the emotional response to a place, an event, a person; Of course this occurs from whatever is retained with-in me, from experience, observation, perception and/or impression. We are part of nature physically and/or spiritually.
I make reference to physical nature as metaphor for alluding to the psychologically complex and mysterious landscape of the human condition and experience, it's ambiguities, its' ambivilences- in essence, nature as reflection of the inner self.
Most of my imagery is suggestive of some sort of aquatic environment, such as the pond ( Thoreau sees' it as the eye of the landscape.), bog, rivers' edge, a dwelling place for all sorts of life forms, where life can emerge and continue in ever repeating cycles of birth, growth, death, decay and rebirth. The element of water, certain plant forms, mud/alluvial soil, have throughout the ages held highly important symbolic significance. To mention just a few: Water, all-powerful symbol of energy and life itself, of time and emotion. The lotus stands for peace and perfection, for spiritual unfolding, rebirth, for grace, also for past, present and future, as the same plant bears buds, flowers and seeds at the same time. What I call 'creative mud' carries the symbol for fertility and potential. Latley I have been thinking alot about stone, the womb and tree as well; Stone, symbol of the eternal, of immortality, also static life, as opposed to Tree, dynamic life and the wombs symbiotic relation to the forces of nature and time.
