ARTIST STATEMENT
Through forms of self-portraiture and invented figurative scenes, I capture the processes of a mystical experience in my
paintings. I start by tapping into the spiritual realm through my daily drawing practice. Working with my unconscious, I
repeatedly channel a particular character who often performs various expressive poses including recurring symbols such as
swirling vines, trees, mountains, and a ball. In other scenes, I see myself and / or groups of men communing in sensual,
contemplative, and tense interactions. My process for creating and completing these drawings is very quick and direct. I then
review, edit, and select the drawings I want to make into paintings.
Leading with with bold compositions that dynamically interact with the edges of the picture plane, my intention is to reveal and
reflect the essential paradox of being alive: chaos and harmony are interdependent forces that are changeable
yet constant. It is my quest to transmute the chaotic nature of being alive into a harmonious state of being. My paintings are a
way of depicting this experience as a mystical process because the goal of the channeled figures is to achieve balance, peace,
and joy. However, it requires uniting the paradox through active, tense physical movement. As in alchemy, the tarot, and
astrology, there are a transmutation of energies. The scenes I create appear impossible and surreal, yet they become real
through their creation. As the painter Max Beckmann so aptly stated, “The metaphysics of substance…the strange feeling
which comes over us when we sense: this is skin - this is bone - all in a single vision that is completely unearthly. The
dreaminess of our existence mixed at the same time with the indescribably sweet illusion of reality.”
My painting is the tangible product of my spiritual practice. By receiving visions from the Spiritual plane and recording them into
the Physical plane, the expression of the Divine can be revealed. In this way, my purpose is to communicate with and activate
the consciousness of the viewer.