Formal issues in my paintings are of primary concern. I make formal choices based on the subject matter. It sometimes may be because of color, light or by the juxtaposition of geometric and biomorphic shapes that landscape has to offer. In my work, the process or act of creating should have at its core a contemplative, spiritual understanding of the landscape . I try to paint the feeling of being in that imaginative place.
I have an equal interest in painting in the studio and painting on location. When I do paint in the studio, away from the source, I tend to be more imaginative and less specific. Generally speaking, I try to find strong, simple compositions and then focus on trying to get a sense of light in my painting while using intense color and strong contrast in areas to create atmosphere and space. I am interested in the expressive and atmospheric qualities paint has when creating different kinds of brush marks on the canvas. I always feel the urge to have some kind of imagery in my own work, no matter how abstracted it is but what can happen on the canvas is unpredictable and sometimes surprising to me.
When looking at other artists, I look at all kinds of painting and drawing but primarily painterly artists like Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff among many others influence me because of their color use, sense of light and their mark-making ability, composition and draftsmanship.
