Why I paint?

STATEMENT

My paintings are animals in Texas Hill Country landscapes that shimmer with a mysterious magic. How animals think, feel and perceive their world has always fascinated me. In this body of work my intent was to push beyond human perceptions and open a window into an alternate reality—to see the world as another being might. What colors do they see, and what are they able to perceive that we cannot? How do their sensory experiences shape a reality that is different from our own? How does their senses dictate their behavior? The reality is every animal on this planet perceives the world in totally different way from our own. 

For many years, my subject matter was portraits of horses and donkeys in a beautiful western landscapes with the intention of capturing the emotional experience of an animal and the land. The paintings were about being grounded on this earth and present in the moment. My intent was to paint the feeling of the wind, sky and light. One year I was fortunate to go on an adventure to photograph wild horses, 70 miles outside the nearest town in Colorado. It was an enlightening experience to be able to observe the social behavior of the horses in a wild setting. This experience sparked a desire to take my work towards a deeper, and more conceptual level. 

My process starts with reading lots of different scientific studies that inspire and influence the work. I take lots of pictures using various types of cameras. I often use an iPhone because it’s usually handy, but I also have a Nikon D750 that produce better quality photos. I also have a GoPro and a Pivo that have proven to be useful in visualizing different way of visualizing. My animal subjects are all known to me, the dog model is my own dog Violet, the cows and donkeys live on a ranch nearby. The birds live in my yard. Observing the animals is an important aspect to my process. I begin each painting by manipulating and putting together various on the computer using Photoshop. I use different filtering techniques and AI tools to manipulate the images further with color, light and point of view. My style is bold, colorful, moody in feel, with intense light. The resulting work is an imaginary exploration of how an animal might experience the world from their point of view.

I’m finally able to fully commit to being a painter after years of working and family issues that made it difficult to do my art. Over the years I had an interesting career as an digital artist. I was involved in the early days of the internet and worked for many technology startups. Most of the startups were data driven ranging from solar energy, drones, and cybersecurity. At one time I collaborated with a mathematician creating art images from mathematical models of chaos.