Thought Process
My work evolves first doing what I call feeding my mind and nesting. I constantly look for and review imagery to fill my thought with a range of possibilities for the type of subject I plan to focus on. I observe, contemplate, and this strengthens my actual painting process as a nutrient that fortifies it. Most of my whole process is about 80 percent ahead of actually placing a stroke onto the canvas. Once I am about to paint I walk and center around and around my subject until I find the exact place, perspective that feels like I can have an interesting dialogue with it, find something I want to look at more deeply. Then begins the dance of strokes which I retain through the process. They show the illusion of the place and the more subliminal rhythm and layering of dark transparent to lighter opaque colors that speak to the energy of the day: wind, sun, movement. There is an energy displayed by the strokes which are carefully layered and retained to the final image. I become unaware of anything but my subject when I paint. I do not move for hours. I work to distill from observation the essence of objects: native colors, subtleties of relationships, harmonies and contrasts. Place, culture, and history are all significant elements motivating this expression. For my finished piece I hope I am opening a dialogue for them between nature, artist, observer and process.
