The inspiration for my paintings comes from artists who set the stage for abstract expressionism -- Monet, Larionov, Kandinsky, O'Keefe, Miro -- and those who made it one of the most important artistic movements of the last 100 years, such as Pollock, Still, de Kooning, Frankenthaler, Reinhardt, Kline, Newman, Mitchell, Francis, Richter.
Most of these great painters spent parts of their careers creating figurative art. Pollock is known to have said "I'm very representational some of the time, and a little all of the time." My work is decidedly non-representational. I owe a tip of the hat to process artists as well, as I select colors, sheens and viscosities and then watch how they interact on canvas. Sometimes the magic doesn't work; I've re-worked canvases a number of times. But when it does, I'm fascinated by the interference patterns of the paint and the strong resulting sense of motion and form.
Just as Pollock did with much of his work, I date and number by way of naming the paintings, in order to add as little to the viewing experience as possible. I would hope those who see these works leave their proclivities and experiences behind. Are they beautiful, grotesque, coherent, incomplete, boring, breathtaking, amateurish, profound, decorative, derivative, subtle, slick, old school, utterly new? Not yes, not no.
