American Still Life
This series of still-lifes is exploring traditional American culture and American food culture. Since I consider, like Umberto Eco, that America is about imitation, many of these paintings are adapted from works by Cezanne. I have taken several Cezanne compositions and transformed them to be 'American' by adding and removing objects and generally playing around with the question: What is an American still life? Also included are still-lifes that ask the question what is edible and what is not edible -- what is consumable, what is not consumable?
Oil paintings on canvas or panel. All are framed and ready to hang.
Northern Landscapes
I try to capture a sense of place through revealing rhythms, patterns and transitions I see and feel while visiting the location. I visit a location, sometimes painting en plein air, sometimes sketching, and sometimes taking these and photos back to the studio to paint. These works consist of oil paintings, mostly on canvas, some on panel.
Sinkside Compost
This series of paintings on panel explore the container next to my kitchen sink where I place my food scraps before they are taken out to the compost pile. This is an observance and exploration of my own diet, what I consider edible vs. inedible, and the amount of food waste I generate. This series is influenced by three genres and styles in art history -read more and see the full series.
Still Lifes
My still-lifes explore everything from my diet to what it means to paint an American still-life. Below you will find works exploring the food scraps in a container next to my sink before it gets taken out to the compost bin and my food obsessions (with the occasional random still-life included). All paintings are made with oil paint, some on canvas, some on cradled panel.
Still-Life-Ish
This series is about creating compositions that refer to still life, yet aren't quite a still life. I am linking associations, objects, and thoughts -- deconstructing this traditional genre by making my internal monologue more important than the elements of the art form. Each object is more than the traditional opportunity to explore form, color and light. This series explores AI derived images, celebrity worship, imitation and dreams -- a mix of my American experience that reflects the chaos of our current world.
Tarscapes
These landscapes are created with tar instead of oil paint. The tar is petroleum-based and aggressive. It will eventually eat through the canvas and ruin the painting. It is expected that the paintings will have a lifespan of about 120 years. These works are a commentary on our current environmental situation as petroleum (in the form of carbon dioxide) is infiltrating our landscapes and slowly destroying them.
