ABSTRACT OIL PAINTINGS

New: Organic Paintings

As we are in the beginning of a new year I’m also at the beginning of a new series. While optimistic about a new direction I found some driftwood in my studio and was intrigued by the shapes, contrasts and textures. I’ve been meditating on nature’s ability to heal and overcome obstacles - certainly qualities we need in this unusual time. I thought about seeing how nature reclaim the Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia and the tree root bridges we walked in Meghalaya. Where villages used mother nature to connect them to each other.

So far this series consists of 4 pieces - two 8x8” and two 20x16” canvas paintings and I just started on a 30x40”. Excited to see where this leads.

small paper squares

As political tensions in the US peaked in the mist of the 2020 US elections and the Covid pandemic soared I drew inspiration from these events unfolding around me. Representational work seemed unequipped to express my state of mind so I threw my meticulous planning out of the window and give way to impulsion. I had no preconceived idea where this series would go or where it would fit into my larger body of work (it doesn’t!). But the impulse was overwhelming and I simply could not bear doing anything else. These are all small works (6x6”) done with mixed media (oil, collage, graphite and pastel) on paper like the pages of a diary. Each are the sincerest expression of my state of mind for that hour as I rode waves of turmoil and joy. The small scale enabled me to accurately capture these moments in time before they passed. As the impressionists worked fast to capture light before it changed, I felt like I had to capture a sensation before it passed. It was instinctive and often scary. Working without the safety of a familiar subject I feel lost at times and terrified at others –when a piece begins to come together and carry meaning but not yet complete, it can be destroyed by a single (wrong) stroke (and many, many were). But here are those that survived this process.

ISOLATION

My Isolation series was my first reaction to the unfolding pandemic in March 2020. As something unprecedented was unfolding around the globe we were left feeling immense uncertainty, anxiety and fear. A global pandemic that kept us contained in our homes, was reorienting our relationship to our leaders, to the outside world, even to each other. Peter Coleman professor of psychology at Columbia University wrote that the de-militarization of American patriotism and love of community will be one of the benefits to come out of this whole awful mess. This reminded me of an abstract piece I purchased years ago called ’little houses’ and I reminisced on our relationships within our families, our communities and our circles of influence. My isolation series were reflecting on my perceptions of hope and growth. In my blog I wrote: ‘We will get through this. It will not be easy but perhaps we will be even stronger, closer or more resilient than we have ever been before. Perhaps this is what we needed to get perspective and to live a more whole hearted life’

tribute to Kurt

Although I’ve mainly been a figurative artist, through the years I’ve occasionally (secretly) dabbled in abstraction but never really shown this work until the pandemic hit and this body of work exploded. These grayscale pieces were some of the few from before the pandemic. In 2018 I studied contemporary art and came across German artist Kurt Schwitters. Initially I had a strong negative reaction to his work, which is precisely what led me to explore him and writing an essay on his art. Through the process of gaining understanding and seeing his work in perspective I gain admiration -especially for his collages and his Merzbau. I often look forward to the day I can release my sanity and get lost in my own Merzbau world.

This series is my tribute to the exceptional and thought provoking art of a staunch artist with an exceptionally difficult life.