The Grid
Cardinal Winter—oil, charcoal, gold dust on canvas, 60 x 48 in., 2020
Untitled (Hum)—oil, chalk pastels, gold dust on canvas, 24 x 48 in., 2020.
Acadia: Black, White, Umber, Turquoise & Red Accumulations—oil, charcoal on canvas, 60 x 48 in., 2020.
I Only Have Eyes for Robin’s Egg Blue—oil, beeswax, flour on canvas, 36 x 36 in., 2019.
The Canyons: Violet, Sap, Oxide & Gold Leaf Accumulations—oil & gold leaf on canvas, 60 x 48 in., 2020.
Untitled (Crystal Moon, Still Water)—oil, chalk pastels, gold leaf on canvas, 36 x 36 in., 2020.
Alizarin, Cerulean, Sap & Gold Grid—oil & gold leaf on canvas, 48 x 48 in., 2020.
Alizarin, Ash, Viridian & Gold Grid—oil , wood ash & gold leaf on cradled birch panel, 48 x 48 in., 2020.
Alizarin, Ash, Pthalo Turq & Gold Grid—oil , wood ash & gold leaf on cradled birch panel, 48 x 48 in., 2020.
Alizarin, Pthalo Turquoise, Zinc White & Gold Leaf Grid with Gold Drips—oil, gold powder, & gold leaf on canvas, 48 x 48 in., 2020.
Prussian & Gold Grid with Red Brown—oil , wood ash & gold leaf on cradled birch panel, 12 x 6.5 in., 2020.
Gold Grid with Red Brown & Prussian—oil , wood ash & gold leaf on canvas, 12 x 12 in., 2020.
Prussian & Gold with Red Brown & Viridian—oil , wood ash & gold leaf on cradled birch panel, 6 x 6 in., 2020.
Prussian & Cerulean on Gold Leaf—oil & gold leaf on panel, 10 x 8 in., 2020.
108 Carmine on Cerulean with Hansa Center—oil, beeswax, graphite, flour on canvas, 24 x 48 in., 2019.
108 Carmine on Mixed Pour—oil, beeswax, flour, wood ash on canvas, 36 x 36 in., 2019.
The Grid Series
It all begins with the grid as a form of meditation, establishing and grounding the mind in the activity of making a simple map. The map is an ancient location device that is also an odyssey of story. It points the way between the places where we are born, grow old, and die. It is a visual abstraction of the most basic of human experiences, that of storytelling. And those stories are bound up in place, in points of reference that can be physical or spiritual in nature. In meditation we are confronted with both aspects of existence. Additionally, there are parallels between mapmaking and storytelling, both of which are imbued with movement and placemaking. The Grid Series is an exploration of these ideas.
The Grid Series is an ongoing series of oil paintings that began in 2019. I have long been interested in the activity of making maps, the significance they hold in understanding our surroundings, and the meanings they convey. The essential action of mapmaking begins with assessing our position relative to our surroundings. Making a map is a way to tell our story from our perspective and establish our point of reference and assert our inherent belonging on earth. The grid is an abstraction of our innate attempts to connect with place and each other. I want to impart a semblance of that emotional terrain with these paintings, turning the grid into a landscape of one’s unique story.
Some of the more recent, multi-process paintings allow me to create grid variations that form new relationships among the various themes I investigate within my studio practice.