About the Work

Thank you for visiting my online gallery. I appreciate the opportunity to share my paintings with you. This website marks an attempt to bring my current work into the light of day, where I hope it will be of interest to others. 

The recent works presented here reflect themes of animal spirits, eco-modernism, philosophy, and even a bit of modernist history painting. I'll explain these areas of interest below, but a few things first:
 

• My works are generally small to encourage close encounters. I like the idea of people (including me) living with these works in familiar, comfortable settings. I do not think of the works as decorative, but rather as meditations on various ideas that will reward moments of contemplation.

• All of my paintings are oil on panel. In many cases, I built the panel and cradle myself, while in other cases I used pre-made panels. Each painting is framed by me from hardwood (poplar, cherry, mahogany), which I have painted or stained. Because modernism is so important to me, I have often tried to construct frames with a strong modernist ethos - clean lines, spare design, and basic colors. Also, I tend to paint in a way that emphasizes the richness of oil paint, and its potential to enhance depth and luminosity.

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Animal Spirits

A primary reason to paint things I see and experience is to illuminate the interior energy of things and scenes, especially animals. I believe the appearance of animals is beautiful and remarkable - equal to great modern works of art. I like to paint them as evidence that the natural world can be even more amazing than AI. Why should we be captivated by something contrived when we are surrounded by a world of stunning uniqueness and variety? Finally, I imagine animals looking out from paintings with a hope of finding humility and grace among human beings. In this sense, I paint animals as though they are the face of God, assessing the human condition and its consequences.

 

Once you become sensitive to animal spirits, the world reveals itself in such a way that virtually everything is beautiful and worth rendering. I also believe there is energy in so-called inanimate objects. For example, I am a strong believer in the expressive power of rocks, especially boulders. 

 

Eco-Modernism

Many of my paintings are inspired by earth science, and especially geology. Grappling with geologic time puts human life in context, and points to the larger order of the universe. Layers of earth are important for me to imagine, especially because no one has ever seen much below the earth's crust. I really enjoy the intersection of physical science and imagination, which I believe have equal relevance in coming to grips with the meaning and possibilities of life.  There are many images of descending planets and moons in my paintings which I understand to indicate the passage of time and the ongoing evolution of the universe.​

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Philosophy/Personal Narrative

The exploration of "original self" is very important to me in my professional work as a psychologist. It is also the pulse of many of my paintings. Connecting with aspects of an original self is like finding what is authentic and essential to our whole being. I left painting for some years in my life, but as soon as I reconnected with the primal forces of line, color, and composition it was like I recovered an aspect of my core being that had become dormant, but which demanded to be reactivated. Even the works related to earth and ecology are an expression of things of great personal importance, like the paths I walk through local woods or along the beach. In addition, I am drawn to self-expression that imagines transformations of the body, and how that might be experienced.

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History Painting

An exploratory dimension of my painting is to bring a modernist aesthetic to the picturing of history. I am drawn to both the visual aspects of particular events and to the meaning of those events to people living now. In doing history painting I am excited by the idea that everything can be converted into paint, which makes it more approachable, and maybe more beautiful. 

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Again, I want to sincerely thank you for spending a few minutes with my work. If you would like to contact me, I'm glad to hear your thoughts. If you are a gallerist who might be interested in exhibiting my work, please let me know.  Thanks.

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