The paintings in this body of work are all based on vintage snapshots and evoke feelings of wistful nostalgia. They are boldly drawn with thin layers of paint over visible wood grain. It was a popular and satisfying method that fulfilled me for years before I felt the need to evolve and change. Many of these pieces are still available! Click on each image to learn more.
Artist Statement for "Snapshots":
This series of art is based on vintage photographs. My challenge is to recognize the great painting inside an innocuous snapshot, to draw out the singularities I see, and express them through the artistic process. Rather than manipulating and rearranging elements in a photograph to fit an artistic aim, my aim is to use the photograph as found. Contemporary art based on vintage images often refer to the photograph as an artifact and highlight the time separation, establishing a distance between the viewer and the subject. I present my subject matter without irony, without self-referential elements. In doing this, I invite the viewer to step into the scene as a contemporary moment.
The foundation of my art is drawing. The images are simply and boldly drawn. I paint thinly, and I try to keep the drawing visible if possible. I work directly on wood panel, sometimes integrating collage. The colors are rich and yet subtle, based on a limited palette, working off of the color of the surface. My style is rooted in the American Regionalism, American Realism, and Modernist movements. The paintings I create are unquestionably contemporary, yet classic and accessible.
In choosing snapshots and photographs that involve happenchance and unpretentious expression, I show how the mundane moments of life are rich with meaning. My style is transcendent of time or fashion, and evokes the essence of life and our ageless human existence.
This series of art is based on vintage photographs. My challenge is to recognize the great painting inside an innocuous snapshot, to draw out the singularities I see, and express them through the artistic process. Rather than manipulating and rearranging elements in a photograph to fit an artistic aim, my aim is to use the photograph as found. Contemporary art based on vintage images often refer to the photograph as an artifact and highlight the time separation, establishing a distance between the viewer and the subject. I present my subject matter without irony, without self-referential elements. In doing this, I invite the viewer to step into the scene as a contemporary moment.
The foundation of my art is drawing. The images are simply and boldly drawn. I paint thinly, and I try to keep the drawing visible if possible. I work directly on wood panel, sometimes integrating collage. The colors are rich and yet subtle, based on a limited palette, working off of the color of the surface. My style is rooted in the American Regionalism, American Realism, and Modernist movements. The paintings I create are unquestionably contemporary, yet classic and accessible.
In choosing snapshots and photographs that involve happenchance and unpretentious expression, I show how the mundane moments of life are rich with meaning. My style is transcendent of time or fashion, and evokes the essence of life and our ageless human existence.