California
I see potential paintings every day. I could never paint all of them in my lifetime. My paintings are my way of trying to make sense of the world around me - more specifically, Los Angeles and California. I moved to Los Angeles in 2009, and have been painting images of California since then. There is so much beauty here that I am convinced I will have subject matter for the rest of my life.
My paintings begin as photographs taken with my smartphone – my way of quickly referencing the beautiful moments I see every day. I review my many images to determine which ones will become paintings. The images that become paintings are often places I see regularly – the silhouette of palm trees from the freeway; the downtown skyline; the mountains and the ocean. Sometimes I see something so intensely gorgeous that I immediately know I have to paint it – the sunrise reflecting on the wing of a plane; the city lights from a downtown bar; a piece of plastic shining in the sun. My work references themes of nature and man.
While subject matter is an important part of my work, the painting process is, for me, ultimately about color. Color is one of my great passions in life and fuels my practice. Much time is spent mixing paint, and every color I choose is deliberate. I often contrast flat planes of color with more complicated, mixed colors, and frequently employ glazing – thin, transparent layers of paint that optically blend to form a unique color with light and depth.
In my work I see memories of places I have been. However, my work isn’t about me – it is about California, which belongs to none of us and all of us. This Golden State has captivated the imagination of generations of artists, and maintains a mysterious allure around the world. This place where I live continues to provide me with unlimited inspiration.