Artist Statement
My aerial-view paintings represent diverse places and spaces of the contemporary landscape seen from an above ground perspective. The flattened surface planes convey the textures of abstract space enhanced by compositional aesthetics and skillful use of color. From the elevated position of high-rise buildings and helicopters, my images of cities and towns, factories and farmlands, power plants, suburban communities and highways are delivered with a distinctive angle on structures frequently taken for granted.
Through the aerial vantage point one discovers a modern perspective and fresh visual vocabulary. The flattened plane reduces details to strong graphic images.
More than just a recording of the contemporary landscape, my paintings are my own interpretation of the essence of these scenes. They combine elements of abstraction and representation, pattern and grid, surface and illusion, as well as observation, imagination, and memory. Whether hovering high above city streets and highways, floating serenely over the countryside, or soaring above towns, harbors and monuments, they examine the relationship between man-made and natural, urban and rural, agrarian and industrial, power, labor and leisure. My work can be understood on many levels, from the simple interplay of shape and color to the narrative of the pictorial story.
My figurative paintings, many based on old family photographs, others from the present, offer a stylized impression of different periods and subjects. While tastes and fashions do change, the most basic of human needs, desires, and dreams are timeless, and my portraits strive to convey these eternal human yearnings. These paintings hint at stories about their subjects, but give viewers room to use their imagination.
My appreciation of unconventional views and eternal human habits come together in my up-close, above-view paintings of food. While the colors and shapes are traditional, the oversized proportions painted from above display the subject in a way that is both original and recognizable.
Overall, I strive to blend a fresh perspective with a savvy demonstration of the power of color and composition.
Highway Loops, acrylic on canvas, 36″ x 48″
View from Macu Tower, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36
Open Field Cultivation, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36
Dusseldorf, Germany, oil on canvas, 36″ x 48”
