We humans have been gifted the heartbeat of eternity and the physicality of a conscious brain- an intuition guided by the flow-state, and the rigidity of a body born of matter. These dualities frame the lives of each human, on scales both individual and species-wide. With my life and art I am dedicated to finding balance between human imposition and these natural systems- finding it, embodying it, and communicating it. Through my methods of making, my paintings blend these dualities of the minds’ imposition and the gifts of the natural world.
Thus far, my paintings have been born of one of two ways- sprung from a concept and painted on panel or canvas, or sought from perceived images in the grain of a slab of wood. Through the prior I act as a traditional painter; ideas come to me, and I plan and sketch and paint with the conviction of a human bent on expression. In the latter I aim to give this control to the tree I paint on- the grain that maps its life guides my marks, and I impose my wishes only to enhance whats already there, otherwise guided by intuition. Through these methods I aim to encapsulate the dualities of humankind, as I give the reins to my conscious brain in the prior and to the unconscious in the latter. Yet, just as the yin and yang are never pure, my expressions of these dualisms can never be perfect. In my paintings led by ego, I am still helpless to the natural patterns that guided me to choosing that shade of red, or painting that particular bird. Symmetrically, I can never truly release my ego in intuition- always my opinionated brain will wriggle through, imposing imagery that forms the lining of my consciousness. It’s these contradictions that make one human- the inescapable intertwining of ego and ether, of conscious and subconscious. My current aim is to merge these methods of creation, and in doing so, further my exploration of humanity and the natural world.
