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ABOUT MY WORK

NOVEMBER 2024

 

A lifetime of observation has made me acutely aware of change. Each moment is unique, never to be repeated, and it is remarkable how quickly the sun moves, or a weather front passes through.
 

The purpose of my work is to capture that experience and share it with you. I create compositions of light and color, marks of pigment that suggest the effect of light filtering through leaves or flickering across a field of grass. You fill in what I leave out, joining in the conversation about the experience.

 

My painting practice is comprised of two approaches: 1) I paint plein air as often as possible, and 2) I am constantly working on larger studio projects that are inspired and informed by the small studies.

 

Painting out of door requires speed, a perpetual chase to capture the constantly changing light. I work on small panels that I try to complete in 2 hours or less dictated by the changing light.​​ If I am unable to complete a painting, I try to get enough information about the experience committed to memory. Unfinished paintings can be reworked in the studio from notes or pencil sketches. Sometimes I preserve the original sketch and make additional small studies from it. I use photographs only as a last resort.

 

Concepts for larger paintings, collections, and installations evolve from the smaller paintings. Larger works may be inspired from a single painting or a composite of several different images.

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I am inspired by the simple beauty I find in nature, but it is the light that I chase. All of us are drawn to the natural world by our common memories, our shared histories that make us human. Spending time outside tends to heal us, revitalize us, and connect us to our world and to each other.

Read a recent interview for an article in "THE HUNT"

BY JF PIRRO

PHOTOS BY JIM GRAHAM

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