FAQs
Here are some real repeat questions I get at openings. If you have a question about my work, please feel free to contact me.
Why do you cover up the writing in the paintings?
Sometimes I allow a word (or a few) to remain legible, but I don’t want to project my thoughts or emotions on viewers so strongly that they can’t experience the piece on their own terms. I try to give guidance with my titles, and I hope the colors used and the mark-making push emotions to the forefront and hint at the underlying meaning. Covering the words also makes them feel like an echo of the past, a whisper of a memory, waiting right below the surface... or like something hidden that shouldn't be made known at all. Treating text like this, removing its power as writing per se, transforms it into an object to be experienced for movement and quality of line and not meaning for meaning's sake. I want to elevate the writing to the status of subject, the same way we interpret a still life or a nude.
Do you work in encaustic? Oils?
I actually paint in acrylics and use charcoal for the text. Acrylics have gotten a bad rap for giving off a plastic-like appearance, but using matte medium and gloss medium/varnish lets me to build up rich surfaces with a lot of depth.
What do you paint on?
Canvas, linen, and basswood panels. I have also experimented with acrylic sheets, and enjoy painting on an Italian cotton paper with wool fibers: Annigoni by Cartiera Magnani.
Are you influenced by Cy Twombly?
You betcha! And by Anselm Keifer, Nancy Spero, and Chinese calligraphy. I’m also a big fan of Squeak Carnwath, Glenn Ligon, and Tony Savoie.
Why do you cover up the writing in the paintings?
Sometimes I allow a word (or a few) to remain legible, but I don’t want to project my thoughts or emotions on viewers so strongly that they can’t experience the piece on their own terms. I try to give guidance with my titles, and I hope the colors used and the mark-making push emotions to the forefront and hint at the underlying meaning. Covering the words also makes them feel like an echo of the past, a whisper of a memory, waiting right below the surface... or like something hidden that shouldn't be made known at all. Treating text like this, removing its power as writing per se, transforms it into an object to be experienced for movement and quality of line and not meaning for meaning's sake. I want to elevate the writing to the status of subject, the same way we interpret a still life or a nude.
Do you work in encaustic? Oils?
I actually paint in acrylics and use charcoal for the text. Acrylics have gotten a bad rap for giving off a plastic-like appearance, but using matte medium and gloss medium/varnish lets me to build up rich surfaces with a lot of depth.
What do you paint on?
Canvas, linen, and basswood panels. I have also experimented with acrylic sheets, and enjoy painting on an Italian cotton paper with wool fibers: Annigoni by Cartiera Magnani.
Are you influenced by Cy Twombly?
You betcha! And by Anselm Keifer, Nancy Spero, and Chinese calligraphy. I’m also a big fan of Squeak Carnwath, Glenn Ligon, and Tony Savoie.
