The continuing foundation of my work from black and white studies to the layered digital media on textured paper is light and what light does to an image to accentuate an artistic statement. Each image that is added and layered upon the others has its own identity and its own light signature that adds to the overall impact of the new creation.
The light signature mixes with shapes, lines, and texture to create a visual impact that frees rhythm and tone in the new creation to produce an immediate aesthetic that evokes a visceral emotion. The layers compel the viewer to spend time searching for the various elements in the image either in an attempt at identification or to relate to subsequent elements and establish connections either implied or apparent.
Influences on these abstract expressionist images begin with Siskind’s idiomatic “peeling paint” studies and my own interpretation of the Alexander Calder sculpture, Two Discs. Representation and abstraction remain side by side. These creations are the expanded descendants of Bearden, Bresson, Doisneau, Atget, Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp. Side influences are Picasso, and Braque, Klee and of course Pollock and his free-flowing expressive style if not temperament.
There are hard interjections with soft conversations. The images are amalgams of queries and conclusions, impulsive and planned. Indeed, there are pulsating rhythms in the viewing process as elements carry the viewer from element to nuance and back again.
Each element in my carefully constructed composition has a series of shapes, lines, colors, and textures that although seemingly disparate, are actually balanced in order to complete an overall aesthetic. During the construction phase, there are various iterations along the way. Any given iteration could be a stopping point. The decision to either continue adding elements or crafting specific elements is based on an overall intrinsic aesthetic.
My intent is to give the viewer an experience both visceral and captivating that will linger in their imaginations.
