Large-scale Abstract Art Based on Nature in Utah
There are three kinds of art that I can make in my career, the art I pursue, the art I stumble upon, and the art that finds me. I have pursued an education in figure painting and drawing. I have stumbled upon methods and materials for projects involving sliced rocks, mural painting, ceramics, and more. Abstract art, however, found me. Upon request, because it surely wasn’t my idea, I created a very large ink painting for a very large wall using some old ink I found in the garage of the house I bought. I can do anything, right? It was a complete failure. But, I just had to have another stab at it. I couldn’t leave those mystical marks alone. There was something in this process that had to be developed. And here I am, all these years later, still honing, refining, and learning from this process.
Nature is an obvious direction for the kind of marks and shapes that happen with my process because they appear in so many places in nature. Nature repeats itself, rivers to veins, lightning to brain impulses, nebulae to tissue cells. I strive for everything natural, yet nothing you can put a finger on. I do not represent nature, only try to capture her design. To achieve this, there must be some rules set in place such as, no identifiable tool marks and no geometric shapes (with the exception of circles and the occasional straight line) There must be innovation and experimentation. And, of course, I must be in tune with nature, ever seeking her patterns and formulas. With the dramatic backdrop of Utah as my muse, I can forever study in my garden, search for the prettiest rocks, watch the sun through clouds, and stare at the stars. Lucky me.
