STARMAKER Painting

While evolved from landscape, fundamental ideas drawn from physics and astronomy animate my work. The combination of chance and physical law kick off the unique evolution of extraordinary objects. Order emerges out of chaos, creating harmony through the interaction of dissonance. I’m not trying to depict final images from science, such as, versions in paint of the Hubble and Cassini mission photos. I work from first principles, with an experimental spirit and approach toward using media. It is up to the viewer to complete the picture, although titles help trigger associations and suggest direction. Improvisation is key, which is where my training as a musician comes in. I build compositions by overlapping frequency lines, adding and subtracting as I work. Paint is often mixed directly on the canvas by combining dry pigment and medium along with earth, sawdust, and other materials. Marks are often made in wet, pre-applied paint using masonry tools, sticks or found objects. Always striving to balance accident and control; chaos and order in making each piece, I often use "destructive" drawing techniques. By employing water jets, air pressure, or intense heat to gouge, slice or burn the paint surface after it's been built up, I can alter the color and texture of paint surfaces as if painting shadows.