DEAN DAY GALLERY

ARTIST STATEMENT

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"My paintings are a focus on reality, especially the reality of my immediate environment where I live and work. I am fascinated by the shapes, forms, and hues created when intense light interacts with familiar objects or surroundings. Abstractions of light and shadow vie for attention with more tangible and recognizable elements, making the comfortable and ordinary seem very 'real' yet disquietingly transient.

 

I follow a highly descriptive approach to my subject matter using a combination of photographic reference and direct observation. I enjoy the ambiguity of a flat design of light and shadow rendered with the illusion of a solid object existing in space. I find this tension between two- and three-dimensional pictorial elements exciting. In my observations, I never cease to be amazed at the variety with which nature can provide the makings of a composition.

 

Most importantly, by emphasizing a universal element such as pure light interacting with the specific and commonplace, I wish to convey to the viewer a sense of timelessness through the vicissitudes of everyday surroundings. My work is not merely a recording of my environment or a simple exploration of the interplay of abstract and descriptive visual elements. If I can evoke in the viewer a sense of timelessness through a single moment in time, then I have succeeded."