ARTIST STATEMENT

I use color to create transportive places. The process begins with combining digital synthetic imagery and collage to create a rough sketch. Then, a full-size drawing is made and transferred to canvas.

My approach is then largely materials-focused. Color and paint chemistry are critical. Thin layers of oil paint are built up slowly to create depth—the same methods used in 16th—and 17th-century painting. I prefer color experimentation over a set process, mixing forgotten pigments with modern ones in unexpected ways.

A painting can tell us things a photograph, or even a firsthand experience, cannot. A place is also a conduit for memory and belief. Places I’ve visited (or only read about) inspire me — but also unrelated things like cartoons, album covers, the supernatural, memories, mythology, geology, urban planning, and anatomy can work their way into a picture. I follow no specific visual lineage. I am trying to capture what I see in my head omnivorously to create a world in which I want to exist. Painting is painting. It is not a substitute for another medium. I do not want to make perfect images.