Arboreal Bind
Oak, taking various forms, is the primary ingredient of this series. First as bark, scorched by fire to make charcoal black, then as ash deposited below the flames, which makes a light cream hue. Oak galls are taken from the young Oak trees and after soaking for months results in a golden brown tint, which, modified with iron, and exposed to oxygen, turns an indelible green black. Tying these together is a deep luscious brown created from walnut husks collected from the forest floor in late autumn.
I employed the use of broad brush strokes that appear to continue past the parameter of the page. The colours pooled on the surface of the paper, melding and infusing together, as if alive. As the paint dried, this blending of organic matter was captured.
In The Vicinity of Tension
These pieces look at the tension that occurs between elements. The eye is drawn to the distinct line across the canvas where colour and form are pushed against each other, as if from different vistas. Water and air pull together at the submerging horizon. The use of negative space adds to a sense of blurringding between plains. Quick blended brushstrokes in oil capture the feeling of dancing fractures where light succeeds and fails to permeate.