I have always created but narrative figure painting remains my first love. People fascinate, frustrate and thrill me; the practice of painting them is an exercise in studying our humanity. I grieve the passing of time and have a strong grasp on the brevity of this human life. This worldview, engaging present time with a sober understanding that there is an end to everything, drives me to find joy in the present and soak up moments that can’t be kept. Painting is my attempt to keep moments a little longer than time naturally allows.
I often work from photographic sources that I take myself and I sometimes use several different sources to complete a painting. For instance, I might stage a scene, photograph it and need to refer to still life or a sitting figure in real time and space to complete the painting. As a general pattern I paint what I see and spend time observing my subject through photographic reference or in real time and space.
When choosing what to paint I look for images that resonate. I’m continually drawn to humor, pathos, a pensive subject or a narrative interruption that opens the artwork up to multiple meanings. As an example, the sleeping children series makes me think of life, death, memory, spirituality, humor (in their often awkward poses) and the simple innocence of childhood. I’ll frequently sneak into my kids’ rooms and take photos of them sleeping in the chaos of their beds with wild hair and legs and toys everywhere. I wonder where they go when they sleep, their dreams, hopes and fears are roiling under the still surface of their bodies; their future is unwritten and their past is assembled in a patchwork of memory complied by a child interpreter. This still sleeping moment marks time in a special way, it is an intimate experience where I feel both delightfully connected to them and painfully disconnected. Oblivious to my presence they dream secret worlds in their own time and space. It is my desire that the viewer engages the pathos and joy, found in this everyday kind of moment, that would lead them into deeper questions about our very existence.
Storytelling through figure painting, for me, is an exploration of the connection as well as the disconnection I experience with others and the world we live in. People will forever fascinate, frustrate and thrill me and I am delighted to share exploration of these themes through my artwork.