ARTIST'S STATEMENT

       Over the years my studio work in oil and gouache has coalesced around two main concerns. First, the creation of images that mine culture and history for satirical commentary, metaphors and wit.  Second, the continuing development of painting technique that expands the possibilities of traditional painted representation as cutting edge visual expression.

       In oil painting my two primary concerns are: 1,  The emphasis on depth, transparency and convincing facture and 2, The painting as a sardonic comment on present or past cultural presumptions.

       The  gouache on paper paintings originate in a phrase or idea presently finding currency in the popular mass media, or literature or film, or a combination of these. An idea is translated through drawing into a composition linking image and text that proposes a frequently funny or biting comment. The paint is applied exploiting the opacity of the medium. This technique facilitates juxtapositions of hatching, layering and strong flat color.

        For ideas and guidance I look at the history of painting, especially the german expressionists and the dutch and flemish masters. Because of the painterly character of their compositions, a huge influence has been the great filmakers of the silent era.