Red Moon Painting

My figurative landscapes are inspired by mythology and by the mountains I live near. The figures act in harmony with the moods of nature. They partake in rituals, emerge out of mist and are nearly always close to water, the symbol of life. They meditate on the shores of and in the sanctuary of womb like mountain lakes or dance near bubbling waterfalls. Here beauty, peace, mystery and the mystical reside. The root of my artistic quest is the search for the sacred in the landscape and the human form. For years I have been exploring and painting the mountains near my home. I have been seeking those moments of ecstatic drama, mystery and the sublime that nature provides for the inquisitive. My landscape paintings try to capture those moments. At the same time I have been painting the figure, especially the dancing figure. I am drawn to movement as the expression of the life force. The swirling of mist and cloud or a dancer flying through the air seem to be excellent expressions of this force. My paintings intend to combine the landscape and dancers in a cohesive synthesis of movement and emotion. The figure's movements and emotions harmonize with the movement and the emotions of the landscape. The figure and landscape are one, both complimenting each other. One of the central ideas of my work is that of the sacred. In ancient times dance was an expression of the sacred. In a whirlwind of rhythmic movement as they spun into a trance like state they would feel closer to their gods. Religious, ritual dance in nature under the dome of the sky has always captured my imagination. Dancers close to nature echoing the forces of nature through the movement of their bodies is what I try to capture in paint. The next element I need in my work is the sense of the landscape as a sacred place. The hallowing of the land is symbolized by simple man made structures that grow out of the land and are in harmony with the surrounding landscape.