Influences

Swing, 2008, oil and charcoal on canvas, 18" x 24"

I was looking closely at a few of my latest paintings and there was something about them, some quality that I couldn't put my finger on. I just realized what it is that they have been reminding me of. Most of my paintings begin with a memory of an image either from my direct past or often enough, from movies or books that were influential to me. Some of my newest paintings seem to be linked to that one scene in Terminator 2, the dream sequence where you see children playing in a playground right before Judgement Day. That movie always freaked me out, I guess I saw it at the right time. There's an emptiness to the paintings, and it feels strange to be looking at something like a swing set without anyone playing on it - so lonely.

Adventurer

Here's a painting I just finished yesterday, I'm calling it Adventurer.

Studio Views, circa 2004

I dug these paintings that are a few years old out of the closet the other day, and I think they look kind of neat. They are all different angles of my old studio. I'm thinking about making them into the backgrounds for a set of new paintings, or I might just keep them, out of nostalgia.

2 Bridges

2 Bridges, 2008, 20" x 24", oil and charcoal on canvas

A few years ago I did a series of paintings that were based on the idea of separation and connection. With this painting I'm revisiting that subject again. Obviously bridges are essentially structures of connection. I'm fascinated by the architectural beauty of bridges; they are at once objects for joining together, yet stoically looming and incredibly isolated.

Play

I just completed Play. I was inspired by memories and images of youth and the sense of freedom that came from playing. I like the dream-like quality that the painting has and the planes of color that lend a fragmented quality reminiscent of memory.

Carrier and Hawkeye

Carrier, oil and charcoal on canvas, 16" x 20"

Hawkeye, oil and charcoal on canvas, 16" x 20"