Transect (Early stage in progress)
I've been thinking a good deal about process lately, so I thought I'd post this photo. It shows an early stage in the development of my recent painting
Transect. Like many of my paintings, the image emerged from abstraction, and assumed solidity as it developed. [An earlier stage of the painting can be seen in the lower right corner of
this photo]. During the early, non-representational phase of the painting, I established the basic composition and movement of the canvas. As I stirred the canvas with my brush, I let the content rise to the surface. I'd been working with earwig imagery for a while, but without bolting it firmly to a finished painting. After several false starts, the earwig joined with the anatomical diagram and marine engine illustration, and achieved stability.
I love the convergence of ideas as they fuse into a final painting. I try no to be overly intellectual during this process, as intuition and impulse tend to guide me more faithfully than rationality. Sometimes the final work succeeds, and sometimes it doesn't, but something of worth always transpires in the process.
While I frequently employ this experimental mode of painting, I also work in an executive, goal-oriented manner. As can be seen in
The Persistence of Hope in the Face of Doubt, the
initial study is almost identical to
the finished painting. When working in this mode, I attempt to execute the painting in the most efficient manner possible, moving from sketch to underdrawing to final painting in the least number of moves. Paradoxically, the constraints imposed by a predetermined image allow me a greater freedom of expression. The preexisting framework liberates the act of painting from the concerns of composition. Like a jazz musician improvising on an existing song, I am able to paint with greater abandon, thinking only of the marks themselves.
Of course, these two methods are not incompatible. They are the right and left hands of painting, and I alternate between them as need dictates. In Transect, for example, the experimental gave way to the executive as the painting matured. Likewise, The Persistence of Hope required a great deal of experimentation during the endgame to resolve issues inherent in the initial plan's execution.
My goal, then, is to cultivate an open, intuitive experimental mode while honing my skills of execution. In the end, I hope to develop the ability to switch seamlessly between the two modes, striving always for increased facility and verisimilitude.
The Juggler (Half a Circle)
The Heirophant
Hoc Corpusculum
Here, Samsara hangs on the walls of their new house. It's a particularly cozy and festive Christmas, as it's the first one for my brand new nephew, Colin. Birth and rebirth, indeed.
In this photo, you can see Samsara in it's old locale. It shares the wall with some Ansel Adams prints. I can't quite remember if the brown water in the fish tank is the result of naturally occurring tannins or of medicine to treat a fungal infection called 'the Ick.'
This painting is one of my first "real paintings." Done in 1994-1995, it depicts our late dog, Loki, sniffing around in the alley between Hanover and Grove in Richmond, VA. This very alley would later be the centerfold for my book 'Grace,' which was a homage to the alleys and buildings of Richmond. 
This painting, is also an oldie. Done in 1996, it depicts an oni-esque angel hurling a lightning bolt from the heart of an expressionistic storm. In this picture it hangs in the original corporate headquarters of Ideas2Image.
This little print belongs to Pam. It is the endplate from my series The Spider and the Dog. It shares this artfully lit shelf with a neat ceramic monster from Argentina and a handmade bowl from somewhere in the chilly north.
It's a little hard to see, but nestled behind keepsakes and curios, a colored pencil Beastie grins. 
Samsara
She Was Thus Protected 
Goat on Cow!
Implied Theology
Transect
