Artist Statement: Layers of Perception in The Real

The creative process for me starts and ends with The Real.  The visual Real is just the surface – what we see in our landscape of imagery and how we begin to understand these images.  The underlying layer of the visual Real is the conceptual significance of our surroundings- the spiritual, permanence, simplicity, and purity of the Real.  These concepts are often overlooked or forgotten.  As a landscape painter, I hope to express the significance from the many meanings or layers we are able to perceive in the landscape.  I hope the viewer will not only be engaged visually, but intellectually.

I utilize different painting techniques in the exploration of the Real.  I paint in plein air and in the studio, allowing my stylistic approach to breathe depending on the desired visual and conceptual effect.  The landscape influences my approach and stylistic technique used.  Impasto paintings are created with painting knives and brushes, with an obvious surface manipulation of texture and color. Plein air paintings are painted on location and finished in the studio.  Component paintings use various visual planes to express the raw sense of transition and evolution of shape, color, and texture.  Each approach is linked and anchored by the same conceptual influence.

I am not a scenic painter - I utilize the imagery to capture significance beyond the obvious – exploring the layers of perception in The Real.