CRITTERS & CREATURES
For a long time I have painted still-lifes depicted as iconographic portraiture. The subjects are mostly representations of living things, although not always in their assumed natural state. I am interested in expressing the personality, spirit and unspoken mystery of seemingly common things that are slightly out of their normal context. This work focuses on the qualities of poignancy, depth and stillness. They are pictorial narratives, unspoken scenes; simple allegories starring anthropomorphic characters who speak silently to me. I translate their voices into paint.
This series of work began as classically painted iconographic portraiture of discarded toy stuffed animals that I find at thrift stores and flea markets. In the mid-late 1990s I began collecting plush bunnies for an installation piece that never came to fruition. In 1998, after studying figurative drawing, I used the rabbits as models. A new body of work was born. It was quite thrilling after 20 years to finally be able to paint something in a representational manner. It was magic.
When beginning one of these paintings I intuit where the subject is set. Composition is crucial to telling the story, to the musical flow and balance of the piece. I like to get into the character of the thing being portrayed. These toy creatures fascinate me. They say a lot about us.
In the natural course of art history painting needs to expand to include new subject matter and points of view. And that representational work, in being defined as realism, include elements that are abstracted. And it’s a lot more fun to compose paintings this way. In my own manner, I dissolve the borders of expectation simply by creating the work that I do.