Artists

One of my principal aims as an artist is to create interesting and compelling visual art within the framework of oil painting practices, past and present. It is not so much a refusal of new media and materials, but a need to bring my efforts within reach of my means. One solitary practitioner cannot investigate every possibility available at this point in time. I feel that the work gains significance and intensity through this restriction of my intentions and practices.

I believe that one of the reasons that oil painting has endured this long is its combination of portability, flexibility and durability, which is to say that I don't personally find painting in oil to be restrictive at all, but uniquely valuable and affordable as a practice. Many other media might also be able to make that claim, but oil painting, by virtue of its simplicity, durability, and long history, offers an accumulated resonance that enhances and enables authentic effort and artistic vision, regardless of its origin and location within the culture at large.

An equally important aim of mine is to understand and effectively wield the visual language of painting in pursuit of those artistic formulations that captivate and inspire, at the very least, create interest that retains the viewers' attention. The practice of painting then becomes a laboratory of sorts where disparate, unrelated notions and materials are stitched together and brought to life, to live an independent existence beyond the studio. In particular, painting very abstractly focuses the activity in area where the absence of representation forces tough decisions and acute strategies in dealing with the various factors that make a painting, such as composition, color, light, or the above-mentioned references.

I strive to make my works accessible regardless of the viewer's experience, but there is little doubt that a prolonged study of oil painting past and present will reward the experienced viewer with additional insights and enjoyment.

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