A still life is a marker and monument to a moment in time that transcends time. I wish to explore and honor the things that animate our world; birds, rabbits, books, fruit and flowers. They are used here as signs of a reverence for nature and our life in it, and also function iconographically as signs of a transcendent reality. There is both comedy and serious intent in the odd juxtapositions which address our contemporary environment and understanding, one that is both transcendent and mundane. At the heart of this body of work is a belief that life affirming universal truths can be found in these juxtapositions.
As a painter of objects, I am interested in the enduring iconography of the still life. In Western art traditions certain images have common interpretations and serve as metaphors for the artist and the viewer. What meanings do we assign to a cup or a flower? And what can be further understood by its juxtaposition with a pear? A bird can be interpreted as an intermediary, a symbol of spiritual consciousness, a guardian, or a trickster eyeing a piece of fruit. Dusk evokes a different feeling than midday or night and so the lighting and background in the painting are important to the ultimate interpretation.
In the studio my primary concerns are the physicality of paint, the use of chiaroscuro, translations of light into color and (occasionally distorted) spacial relationships, all placed in a formal, emblematic format. Often the table is a plain or a proscenium. All these elements interweave various levels of illusion and reality to create a charged dramatic atmosphere.
All of these works are oil paintings on canvas.