B.F.A. Drawing

Lost in thought, running through the moonlight woods, nestled in the static noise of an old television, embracing the void of closed eyes, these are words that come to mind when the question of my art is raised. Stillness is nerve-racking, always working, always moving, always thinking, as time ticks away until the emerging light of dawn creeps through barely open curtains; a place where the sun is silent and sleep feels like it could a coma I’d never wake from. This is my expression, the passion of a million other artists who have come before me. The expressive notion becomes an escape, what starts with a concept, a sentence, lyric or conversation is brought to life through relentless research and personal direction in order to silence the mind.In order to enact these ideas and reflections I turn to the painted and illustrative medium. The medium of paint allows for a richness granted by its pigments; which allow for a greater range of value, and a longer window of time for correction. The ability to push and pull the oil medium as it dries, to cover one color with another, to blend two colors together with the slightest touch of the brush grants an enormous sense of representation, alongside the ability for continuous battle, vast manipulation in order to make the canvas speak to the viewer.

However, illustration is different in this respect, for the illustrative process is win or lose battle. Success or failures much like my paintings are dependent on concept, research and constant reworking. Unfortunately there is no ability to change marks on the fly, the battle is a rookie’s first match against the long standing champion, one mistake and it’s time to grab a new sheet of paper so I can start again. Each match is a learning curve, finding what works and what does as I rework the concept again and again.

These two different aspects of my work are opposite, but two sides of the same coin. Painting, a slow forgiving act, a dance left open for interpretation; and illustration, a battle, writing the plan over and over, before even taking the first step onto the theoretical field. Both however are strongly reliant on concept and theme.

Themes I use allow for a separation from the blue collar culture of hunting, fishing and farming of the eastern shore where I grew up. My concepts are born from wild life, the human figure and modern society; including everything from music, to video games, to social media and writing or lyrical context. The concepts bring life to themes that tend to speak on ideas of young adulthood, nervousness and anxiety and become through art physical reflections of my personality.