Callahan Road XI Painting

I consider the Northeast region of USA to be my home. I was fortunate to be raised in Litchfield County Connecticut where I learned to love the outdoors and a rural lifestyle while also calling NYC home where my parents were raised. From the first moment I chose to be a painter, I have revered painting’s ability to reveal connections & meaning through a whole body/mind experience. When we find ourselves in the midst of an authentic and grounded sense of reality, our realization cannot be contained by singular descriptive tool. I believe that is why practices such as the arts and contemplative meditation practices are so important in our world today. Art can act as a conduit for the eternal and the transcendent. This body of work is built out of a urgency to claim what is essential in life. As a child I dreamed of worlds far away from my native New England. My day was anchored in barn chores and stewardship of animals. I have been fortunate to travel to Syria, Jordon, France, Spain & Patagonia. My habit is to photograph surfaces and print hard copies, stacking them in the studio for reference. The photographs act as record of my observations, often of the relationship of light, pattern and palette.While one might identify an influence or association, the painting is still allowed the breath of time to unfold and contain "this" moment for the observer. My core interest lies in how we explain life to ourselves & what we hold precious. My pieces are constructed formally by observing and mining everything that surrounds me and the emotional climate I live within. Conceptually I circle around and around the questions posed by my particular experience. These paintings are mediations or prayers on what is honorable and good, meant to invoke our highest selves and remind us who we are. It is my intention to offer a mirror so that the observer may make the same discoveries for themselves. Fundamentally art only speak in metaphor. It is not unlike how a poet constructs a space for the reader to vicariously experience another’s heart or spirit. The words must shimmer, catching the glimmer of human consciousness just outside of focus. Art is an expression of the interiority that remains inherently a wild experience and an invocation for the spirit within. Only then opening a "thin-space" may lay open pure spirit unfolding an authentic moment.