STATEMENT OF WORK

“Paintings of people, mostly people in their underpants.” This was the statement I concocted when asked to reduce my practice down to 10 words or less. It is facetious yet it functions as an effective encapsulation of my work: it is art that disregards context and ornamentation to draw full attention to the human aspect, employing humor and familiarity to intercept the viewer’s instinctive judgement of the person depicted.

My work begins with an image, almost invariably a photo taken by a stranger. Often these are pictures I discover in flea markets, antique stores or online, mid century photos and slides that were lost or discarded. I am drawn to the feeling of familiarity these images provoke in me, however, the anonymity of the subject frees me from the sense of responsibility, even indebtedness, that can accompany traditional portraiture - that of an artist faithfully representing a model in a flattering yet accurate manner. Even in the portrait series I have undertaken I have sought out strangers as subjects, utilizing social media to find my subjects, asking for selfies submitted by the public.

My method for creating work is instinctive and improvisational - I sketch the image with pencil or acrylic before going over it in oil to build texture and detail. I rarely make preparatory drawings as impulsivity is a driving force in my process and mistakes often are their own solutions. I am cautious not to overwork the piece, allowing the underpainting and even the painting ground to be clearly visible in spots, leaving drips and scribbles as an archeology of process. The figure is removed from their surroundings, the background erased and a face or torso or grasping of hands is left as the focal point. The work is finished when it is pictorially unfinished but compositionally complete.