"Sraith Reflections" Trailer
Tar Snake “Tar Snake” is a series of paintings on paper, mylar, and linen inspired by the tar ribbons that fill the cracks in the road. You hardly ever see them created by a public works department, but they are always being done and are everywhere. The use of mylar, a new material in my work, becomes a metaphor for the smooth texture in film and photography, and suggests overlapping gestures to retain the feeling of a double exposure. Interpretations of its multiple meanings is left to the viewer.
Kryssord The series “Kryssord”, “Crossword” in Norwegian, engages the relationship between the organic and the geometric, where the influence of personal heritage, studies of neurology, and the mind games of crossword puzzles intersect.
Sraith Sraith, from the Old Irish "Sraith"is defined as "swath, spread, layer, ply, stratum lines, series, and in music - progression and cycle" This work evolved into an ongoing series of paintings, and a video "Sraith Reflections", about meditations and internal energy based on the repetition of linear gestures layered into numerous strata, It evokes abstracted landscape images reminisced from County Mayo, Ireland, Taos, NM, and, Freedom, New Hampshire.
Verve Known as an iconic music record label, is referenced as the musical inspirartion for the work that incorporates direct and energetic formal elements of gestural color and line.
Compositus The persistent use of line, gesture, and color continues to access many reoccurring threads in my work over the past thirty years. As I now revisit these themes, which range from the lyrical to severe, I am interested in the connections that are revealed from a group of seemingly divers but ultimately very related works of formal abstractions.
Ceide Field-Ballinglen This series is inspired by my travels in Ireland and a residency at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Ballycastle, County Mayo, Ireland. Upon returning to the U.S. with a suitcase full of works on paper, I began a series of large oil paintings entitled "Ceide Field" (pronounced kayja). Measuring up to 60 inches and just off-square, the paintings parallel the Irish landscape through repeated mark making and abstract spatial loops. The work is influenced by the peat bogs of the "Ceide Field" County Mayo, the coastal rock formations in Easky, County Sligo, the Slieve League cliffs of County Donegal, and the landscape of the Burren, County Clare. Line, color, and gesture are used to create metaphors of micro/macro topographical space and biological synapses. - www.museumsofmayo.com/ceide.html
Jokulsarlon During my travels to Iceland in 2009, I encountered a monumental lagoon of Icebergs in the town of Jokulsarlon which became a significant moment of distilled revelation. I became transfixed by its intense quiet, and extensive landscape, protected from the sound of high winds by a long tall embankment. As I journeyed up the south east coast, at every mile I reveled in the magic of glaciers, waterfalls, pumice, black sand, moss, and hot springs.
Freedom Flight & Flight SeriesThe Freedom Flight series was painted at Loon Lake in Freedom NH, a summer retreat for the past 30 years. Work created here represents my deepest connections to nature. “Freedom Flight” pays homage to this location, the incidences of light, the sounds of nature, the movements of insects birds, water, wind, and the fleeting moments of unexpected connections.
Convergence Lines become a mantra for this obsessive repeated mark making, where ground becomes forground and the hidden order of randomness results in the chance intersection of lines that move in every direction.
Pulse: In this series of abstract paintings entitled “Pulse”, gesture, repetition, and bold color continuously predominate. I have incorporated lyrical ribbons of lines through the use of bold color and space, these pieces manifest unpredictable twists and turns while remaining intricately balanced and rhythmically discovered. “Pulse” breaks loose from rigid formats to honor the lyrical and natural world and improvisational jazz.
Taos Large gouache drawing are based on the colors and landscape of Taos New Mexico and the ever-present formal, gestural, and linear elements.
Vibe “Vibe” continues the vertical linear work emphasized in “Twang”. They range from aggressive bold colors to subtle nuances. Long thin lines of intense color, some tight or bowed, and others unbound have the quality of echoing tones. In this work I continue the challenge of abstract compositional speed, rhythm, and freedom. The “Vibe” series is influenced in part by the vertical nature of the landscape of Freedom, NH a summer home for the past 30 years and the musical sound of its loons.
Monochrome Grids Though seemingly reductive in style, these works are quite the opposite. Each painting begins with a solid ground of color. Various patterns of vertical and horizontal lines are then repeatedly drawn, scored, and painted over an extended time. This intuitive process continues until reaching a high degree of saturation in color and gesture with an unrelenting tone of rhythm, repetition, and nuance. By allowing the drawings to reveal themselves slowly they provide for a deeper understanding of the emanation of light, the intensity of micro/macroscopic space, the concept of “abstract equilibrium”, and the nature of infinity.
Montauk This group of drawings was completed while in residence at the Edward Albee Foundation in Montauk NY, summer of 2000. They represent the first shift away from the grid to only horizontal elements and are influenced by the horizontal landscape of Montauk. In this series of gouache drawings, each line is created with tape to isolate its intrinsic element of color without reference to its compositional form. As in previous work, repeated lines are layered over a long time until reaching an intuitive conclusion.
Lines This series continues the linear work from Montauk with unrestained bold colors and monochrome iintensities.
Dover Staion - Print Printmaking greatly influenced his painting. The repetitive process of editioning a print became an integral part of the serial nature of his work. The discipline of linear precision and surface preparations in etching were also transferred to the oil painting’s surface. The intaglio print, “Dover Station”, pays tribute to an elevated subway landmark in Boston he painted for over six years. In the print “Dove Station”, pattern replaces perspective and equilibrium displaces vertigo.
Lineage “Lineage” begins the unraveling of the strict linear elements seen in previous work. Instead of layering horizontal lines with taped edges as in the Montauk series, these gouache drawings, now become almost frayed and stacked. In this new compositional space, lines are placed on top of one another, like a maniacally reordered pile of straw, starting and stopping at random.
Twang The “Twang” series is a pivotal shift and major influence in the drawings and paintings entitled “Vibe”. Initially conceived as horizontals and left aside for a year, rotates the image to a vertical and extends the bowed, curved and straight lines to the edge of the paper. When turned vertically they become activated. The notion of released compression within a tight linear structure creates a sense of anticipation. The title was inspired by my performances playing the musical saw in a band called “Twang”. The bowing of the saw, and gestural movements in physical therapy influence the direction of this work.
Blue Mountain Works with this reference were created while in residence at Blue mountain Center, NY and are inspired the powerful Adirondack landscape.
Pastoral Contemplative and relaxed, this series draws inspiration from the landdscapes from Taos New Mexico to the the quiet lakeside views of Freedom NH
“There’s nobody living who couldn’t stand all afternoon in front of a waterfall .... Anyone who can sit on a stone in a field awhile can see my painting. Nature is like parting a curtain, you go into it .... as you would cross an empty beach to look at the ocean.”
-Agnes Martin
Tar Snake “Tar Snake” is a series of paintings on paper, mylar, and linen inspired by the tar ribbons that fill the cracks in the road. You hardly ever see them created by a public works department, but they are always being done and are everywhere. The use of mylar, a new material in my work, becomes a metaphor for the smooth texture in film and photography, and suggests overlapping gestures to retain the feeling of a double exposure. Interpretations of its multiple meanings is left to the viewer.
Kryssord The series “Kryssord”, “Crossword” in Norwegian, engages the relationship between the organic and the geometric, where the influence of personal heritage, studies of neurology, and the mind games of crossword puzzles intersect.
Sraith Sraith, from the Old Irish "Sraith"is defined as "swath, spread, layer, ply, stratum lines, series, and in music - progression and cycle" This work evolved into an ongoing series of paintings, and a video "Sraith Reflections", about meditations and internal energy based on the repetition of linear gestures layered into numerous strata, It evokes abstracted landscape images reminisced from County Mayo, Ireland, Taos, NM, and, Freedom, New Hampshire.
Verve Known as an iconic music record label, is referenced as the musical inspirartion for the work that incorporates direct and energetic formal elements of gestural color and line.
Compositus The persistent use of line, gesture, and color continues to access many reoccurring threads in my work over the past thirty years. As I now revisit these themes, which range from the lyrical to severe, I am interested in the connections that are revealed from a group of seemingly divers but ultimately very related works of formal abstractions.
Ceide Field-Ballinglen This series is inspired by my travels in Ireland and a residency at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Ballycastle, County Mayo, Ireland. Upon returning to the U.S. with a suitcase full of works on paper, I began a series of large oil paintings entitled "Ceide Field" (pronounced kayja). Measuring up to 60 inches and just off-square, the paintings parallel the Irish landscape through repeated mark making and abstract spatial loops. The work is influenced by the peat bogs of the "Ceide Field" County Mayo, the coastal rock formations in Easky, County Sligo, the Slieve League cliffs of County Donegal, and the landscape of the Burren, County Clare. Line, color, and gesture are used to create metaphors of micro/macro topographical space and biological synapses. - www.museumsofmayo.com/ceide.html
Jokulsarlon During my travels to Iceland in 2009, I encountered a monumental lagoon of Icebergs in the town of Jokulsarlon which became a significant moment of distilled revelation. I became transfixed by its intense quiet, and extensive landscape, protected from the sound of high winds by a long tall embankment. As I journeyed up the south east coast, at every mile I reveled in the magic of glaciers, waterfalls, pumice, black sand, moss, and hot springs.
Freedom Flight & Flight SeriesThe Freedom Flight series was painted at Loon Lake in Freedom NH, a summer retreat for the past 30 years. Work created here represents my deepest connections to nature. “Freedom Flight” pays homage to this location, the incidences of light, the sounds of nature, the movements of insects birds, water, wind, and the fleeting moments of unexpected connections.
Convergence Lines become a mantra for this obsessive repeated mark making, where ground becomes forground and the hidden order of randomness results in the chance intersection of lines that move in every direction.
Pulse: In this series of abstract paintings entitled “Pulse”, gesture, repetition, and bold color continuously predominate. I have incorporated lyrical ribbons of lines through the use of bold color and space, these pieces manifest unpredictable twists and turns while remaining intricately balanced and rhythmically discovered. “Pulse” breaks loose from rigid formats to honor the lyrical and natural world and improvisational jazz.
Taos Large gouache drawing are based on the colors and landscape of Taos New Mexico and the ever-present formal, gestural, and linear elements.
Vibe “Vibe” continues the vertical linear work emphasized in “Twang”. They range from aggressive bold colors to subtle nuances. Long thin lines of intense color, some tight or bowed, and others unbound have the quality of echoing tones. In this work I continue the challenge of abstract compositional speed, rhythm, and freedom. The “Vibe” series is influenced in part by the vertical nature of the landscape of Freedom, NH a summer home for the past 30 years and the musical sound of its loons.
Monochrome Grids Though seemingly reductive in style, these works are quite the opposite. Each painting begins with a solid ground of color. Various patterns of vertical and horizontal lines are then repeatedly drawn, scored, and painted over an extended time. This intuitive process continues until reaching a high degree of saturation in color and gesture with an unrelenting tone of rhythm, repetition, and nuance. By allowing the drawings to reveal themselves slowly they provide for a deeper understanding of the emanation of light, the intensity of micro/macroscopic space, the concept of “abstract equilibrium”, and the nature of infinity.
Montauk This group of drawings was completed while in residence at the Edward Albee Foundation in Montauk NY, summer of 2000. They represent the first shift away from the grid to only horizontal elements and are influenced by the horizontal landscape of Montauk. In this series of gouache drawings, each line is created with tape to isolate its intrinsic element of color without reference to its compositional form. As in previous work, repeated lines are layered over a long time until reaching an intuitive conclusion.
Lines This series continues the linear work from Montauk with unrestained bold colors and monochrome iintensities.
Dover Staion - Print Printmaking greatly influenced his painting. The repetitive process of editioning a print became an integral part of the serial nature of his work. The discipline of linear precision and surface preparations in etching were also transferred to the oil painting’s surface. The intaglio print, “Dover Station”, pays tribute to an elevated subway landmark in Boston he painted for over six years. In the print “Dove Station”, pattern replaces perspective and equilibrium displaces vertigo.
Lineage “Lineage” begins the unraveling of the strict linear elements seen in previous work. Instead of layering horizontal lines with taped edges as in the Montauk series, these gouache drawings, now become almost frayed and stacked. In this new compositional space, lines are placed on top of one another, like a maniacally reordered pile of straw, starting and stopping at random.
Twang The “Twang” series is a pivotal shift and major influence in the drawings and paintings entitled “Vibe”. Initially conceived as horizontals and left aside for a year, rotates the image to a vertical and extends the bowed, curved and straight lines to the edge of the paper. When turned vertically they become activated. The notion of released compression within a tight linear structure creates a sense of anticipation. The title was inspired by my performances playing the musical saw in a band called “Twang”. The bowing of the saw, and gestural movements in physical therapy influence the direction of this work.
Blue Mountain Works with this reference were created while in residence at Blue mountain Center, NY and are inspired the powerful Adirondack landscape.
Pastoral Contemplative and relaxed, this series draws inspiration from the landdscapes from Taos New Mexico to the the quiet lakeside views of Freedom NH
“There’s nobody living who couldn’t stand all afternoon in front of a waterfall .... Anyone who can sit on a stone in a field awhile can see my painting. Nature is like parting a curtain, you go into it .... as you would cross an empty beach to look at the ocean.”
-Agnes Martin
