#542. Red Sumac Painting

Drawing is vital to my work, which often begins with on-the-scene, line-and-color studies. I pare down to essentials, intensifying patterns and color interactions, which heighten the dynamics of the composition. In my large-scale close-up views, based on the small studies, I bring the viewer right into the action of the painted piece, enabling him or her to notice and appreciate the structure and complexity of the patterns in nature. To maintain immediacy and vitality, the final painting is done fairly quickly, after many, many, large, painted studies. So a “quick” painting may have actually taken months of studio time to achieve. In my years of walking and hiking, I became more and more drawn to the “close” looks at ordinary vegetation, rather than long, picturesque views of the surrounding landscape. In my nature-based paintings I share what awes me about their “ordinary” beauty. Although we know that each of us sees differently, becoming conscious of my own vision has been a long process. While the way I see is my own, the way I express it is a product of my experience and of many artistic influences. My “heroes”, whether ancient or contemporary, affirm my enthusiasm for line and color to build rhythm, space, and structure. My favorites- from Botticelli, VanGogh, Gauguin, Cezanne, to Matisse, Bonnard, Vuillard, Monet, Lautrec and Diebenkorn, (among others)-have all contributed to my enthusiasm over how many ways artists can express what they notice, and care about, in the visual world.