Paintings

My paintings are abstract, painted in a flat, hard edge style. They are preconceived but are not burdened by theory. The paintings are based on detailed small-scale studies that are products of a playful, intuitive approach. The paintings represent themselves, rather than being representational. The forms don't symbolize or describe anything outside of the painting. 

 

For me, painting is about creating visual space on a flat surface. In some of my paintings, the space is created entirely with painted forms and lines. In others, space is created by the interaction of painted forms with cut-out shapes that are adhered to the surface. 

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Shape and color are assimilated to develop tension and an ambiguous space that first appears one way, then changes into something different. I set out to create a painting that has contradictory qualities. First, the painting communicates its energy instantly. Second, it has possible readings that only become apparent after the viewer has looked at the painting for a while. I feel the true reward is the pleasure of discovering allusive layers of vision in the same painting.  

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By closely adhering to the small-scale studies, upon which the painting is based to a large degree, the composition is predetermined before it goes on the canvas, but sometimes sections are not right on the canvas and must be changed. Because I want an unspoiled surface, areas that are to be changed must be scraped flat before making the changes so that ridges from the previous image are not visible under the new surface.

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The use of the small-scale studies implies modularity and enables the production of nearly identical paintings in different scales. Using the composition structure of "Portrait", a small, light green vertical painting, I created "Cassidy Red", which is much larger in size, the color is red and the format is horizontal.

 

 

Stand-Alone Cutouts

The cutouts are made from a sheet of PVC plastic and given bases that allow them to stand and be seen from both sides – an intentional visual challenge between front and backsides. Some of the cut out images are simple, while others are complex. The images are created by both painting and lamination.