Abstract

I find this form of expression the ultimate in freedom.  This is where I began and where I will always establish a foundation for future work from.  I'm grateful that I chose this form early.  It has taught me to push the boundaries of any work and I find that as I evolve in my practice this element of playful corruption is still present in the most delicate or intricate of my work.

 

My paintings attempt to express a sense of the ephemeral nature of things.  A sort of window into what is occurring unseen.  I grapple with the construct of linear time and often feel that memories are not in the past as we know it but with us in the present, beyond our undeveloped grasp.  I often find myself with the overwhelming feeling that a significant experience I have previously had is about to be revealed to me again.  And in the single moment that it takes for me to recognize this - the promised memory fades out of access.  In working with paint and attempting to be as fearless as possible, I hope to access more of what we cannot see but know is there - even though I have no idea what I am looking for.  Sort of like knowing how to get there but not knowing where I am going.  My layering process, which generally entails removing and covering more than I add - is I think, a suggestion of an unchartable time space.

I use colour as an essential source of communication and graphite lines in a reckless, child-like way.  At a certain point the direction of the painting becomes clear to me and I am no longer in a sea of endless possibilities (relief!)  The original markings could disappear altogether or remain peaking partially through as I continue to add and remove.  Like a whisper or a hint of a thought that has been and is again.

“I shall die in Paris, in a rainstorm.

On a day I already remember.”

  - Cesar Vallejo

  Peruvian Poet