Emergence Painting

I take an intuitive approach to abstract expressionist painting. In other words, I start with a vague notion of where I want a painting to go, and I add color and pattern to let the painting take me where it wants to go. My paintings often depict scenes of juxtaposition and comparison; I place two or more similar (but not identical) objects in the same environment and allow the viewer to judge their relative value. My interest in nature often has me choosing animals or other organisms as my subjects. I often set these focal points apart, to raise or lower their relative value, by adding subtle challenges or conditions for the subjects. I do this to get the viewer to realize/remember that they are constantly judging things (objects, organisms, people, etc.) by comparison to other things, yet, without looking closely, these judgments are superficial. Only a close look can allow meaningful comparison.