Sincerely Ironic Painting

Born 1981, New Columbia, Pennsylvania Artist, Tattooer, Teacher now lives in Baltimore, MD, MFA, 06' MICA, Mt. Royal School of Art. My attraction to abstract forms, along with my interest in American Modernism, and the cycle of abstract painting has led to the development of my own painting vocabulary. I am fascinated with color-to-color transitions in relation to line, space, form, color, pattern, and decoration. In these paintings, I am able to create my own world set between the ideas of abstraction and representation. These invented worlds have a sense of structure, animation, and playful color. The ornamental and decorative motifs come out of collecting a multitude of fabrics, whether recycled remnants or old clothing found at thrift stores, all have their own story and character. The patterns comment on the mundane and everyday life - ordinary patterns, wall paper designs, paisley prints, quilting squares, flower decorations, tattoo designs, and common American fabrics that remind me of my childhood. In various paintings, the use of pattern becomes culturally specific. The use of bright and neutral colors is crucial to the paintings. All color relationships are based on or related to the use of Color Theory, mainly from Josef Albers and Johannes Itten. I want to use color in a way that it is essential in value and hue to the other colors that surround it. I choose to evoke visual reactions. I want the viewer to consider the relationships and roles of the forms and patterns. I am interested in the spacial effects of color, specifically with harmonious color palettes, simultaneous contrast, and how colors function at their greatest luminosity. These paintings encompass multiple ideas of decoration, place, language, action, landscape, animation, and the use of mixed media. Pattern serves as a jumping off point, they are concrete. Through the painting process I subvert their intended use and create a new world in which to view these colors, organic structures, and pattern. Incorporating fabrics, pattern, natural forms, and decorative motifs goes beyond displaying their visual beauty and appeal. I strive to communicate intuitive and emotional qualities with graphic and painterly techniques. I want to incorporate the parallel dialogue of drawing and painting with understanding form, light, color, and the energy of paint.