Strictly Abstraction

During the twenty-five-mile drive from Austin to my studio in Elgin, I often see flocks of blackbirds forming unpredictable shapes, which
appear as dark, solid forms against the sky. In reality, the birds are swarming in every direction. Scientists call this phenomenon “murmuration.” In a process that remains a mystery, the birds, numbering in the thousands, rapidly transmit directional changes. I’m attracted to the stark contrast between the interior turbulence created by the flock’s motions and the more defined edges of the overall form. The shape soars and alters in the sky as a single unit while within it, each bird flies on its own independent trajectory. Order is constantly poised on the brink of chaos. This moment of instability is what drives my paintings.