I am driven . . .
For me, my art is more than a vocation -- it is a passion which must be sated; and yet, that point of satisfaction is never achieved. As a student of life, I must learn from each new piece, and take this added skill and knowledge forward to another and another. I am compelled to pursue the variations of paint and sculpture, and to seek within each piece some level of realism so exquisite that it almost draws breath. Within each subject that I embrace, I search for that combination of form, colour, texture and balance, (and always with an eye to the aesthetic) in order to enhance my compositions to the point where each of them effectively tell their tales. The Sculptures . . . It is my sincere intention in the figures that I create to strip them of their pretensions, their protective personae, and to replace this clutter with a reflection of the essential truth about the human condition. Further inspiration and definition comes from abstraction, form and finish -- to enhance its artistic pulp. My primary medium of choice is clay, which is at once both living and forgiving -- and which allows me to capture the subtleties of motion and emotion. Ever the adventurer, however, I will also respectfully explore all mediums -- any fabric of man or nature which will allow itself to be reshaped to my bidding. The Grisaille Paintings . . . I have always been drawn to grisaille painting—maybe because it is somewhat sculptural, focusing as it does on form. In my pursuit of this grey-scale paint technique, I have learned so much about composition, balance, perspective, light and shadow. Although not all subjects lend themselves to a grisaille presentation, I choose those which do -- focussing my audience’s gaze to the form, which I always see as sculptural and defined in terms of light and shadow, and eliminating the distraction of color when its very use may split the audience’s focus or obscure the work’s meaning. The iPad Paintings . . . The delight of digital painting is in the depth and texture that may be found. Light and dark take on more profound depths, colour presents with a new vigour. While some artists denigrate the medium, I find it liberating, layering image over image with a precision and freedom seldom achievable in any other medium. Furthermore, it is an affordable art-form to the consumer of art, and with the invention of the professional printing process known as Giclée, the art-lover enjoys the finest in quality prints. |