People often ask how I arrive at the style and color in my paintings.  The short answer is I paint what I see.  Why I see what I see is a more complicated question, but I don't spend much time on that side of my brain.  In a sense, my mind operates a bit like a thermal imaging camera.  I see the spirit of living things in variations on color and find watercolor the most accurate medium to capture the impression.  But the application is somewhat unconventional.  

I generally paint on canvas with a hand-sculpt paper overlay or Yupo (a synthetic fine art paper).  The hand sculpted paper surface on canvas provides a textured base that adds dimension and body to the watercolor application, enhancing the three dimension illusion of two dimensional paintings.  Another illusory emphasis in my work is the use of negative (white) space.  I love negative space.  The notion that nothing becomes something only the brain can untangle tickles my conundrum bone. 

My more abstract work is direct application of water based pigment on Yupo, a slippery surface that wrestles for control and teases the senses.  To paint on Yupo, my table must be perfectly level in order to control the free flowing movement of watercolor over synthetic surface.  The result is a deep, rich, more transluscent color than conventional watercolor applications.  The downside?  If I forget and lift the painting prematurely I end up paper-in-hand, portrait-on-foot.  Painting on Yupo reminds me of that old Simon and Garfunkel tune “Slip Slid'n Away.”

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