| Description |
The rolling foothills, rugged mountains, and sharp red rock found in the West have always; held great appeal to me. I am a keen observer of the environment around me. I am constantly; making mental notes about what is happening to the land at various times of day and; at different rimes of year. As I began co paint the landscape around me, I realized that many; of the scenes that were the most interesting to me were found while traveling in the car. The; Western United States is known for its stunning scenery, dramatic vistas, and national parks.; I discovered for myself as I was making my own journeys to these popular places that I loved; the landscape I was experiencing along the way more than what I was finding at the journey's; end. I began shooting images the car window, attempting to capture anything I found interesting.; Usually, the photos taken along the way far outnumber those taken at the destination.; These photos taken from the moving car have become the basis of what I take into the studio; to make my paintings. Part of the appeal to me of the process of collecting images this way is; the element of chance and the unexpected. With the car in motion, there is nor much time; to think about what is happening or plan the composition. I often shoot the same stretches; of road at different times of the day and at different times of year and get completely different; material to work from. These images are collected so they can be studied later and ideas; can be expanded on later in the studio.; Shape is what I think about most when I am creating an image. The idea of emphasizing; strong shapes and patterns lends itself very well to exploring contrasts in scale and color for; dramatic effect. I am always looking to experiment with relationships and transitions between; various elements in the landscape. Clouds, sky, mountains, fields, silo, sheds, all create; interesting and compelling environments. Land and cloud forms are defined in terms of light; and shade while distance determines value and temperature of those shapes. As an artist, I; can manipulate the elements in a painting to make dramatic and bold statements about the; landscape. I can control the scale, contrast, and rhythm of the various shapes in my paintings; to accentuate a certain idea or mood of the environment. I am working to translate a; three-dimensional world onto a two-dimensional plane. I want the-viewer to be rewarded not; only by looking at the brush strokes close up, bur by standing back and enjoying the overall; design.; My work is about using relationships to heighten reality. I am interested in emphasizing; the abstract nature oflandscape by experimenting with contrasts between shapes found in; the landscape. There are many notions of abstraction that can be found in exploring images; based on reality. My goal as an artist is to continually explore forms and patterns found in the; landscape to give my work as much visual impact as possible. |
