What inspires your approach to capturing the essence of a landscape?
When setting out to capture a scene, or the essence of that scene, I try to nail the major elements of it -- temperature, key details, color and composition. The color and compositions must work to aid the subject in some way, sometimes by creating the right tension, mood, balance, or closing off the space to build intimacy.
How do you balance realism and interpretation in your work?
When working in a very representational way painting landscapes, you have to know which details matter more as everything in the scene is as complex as nature is. Generally those details are the ones that support the subject or narrative, and removing some of the chaotic elements that don't is called for. All in all, it's not possible to faithfully copy nature, you have to interpret and in doing so, we each gain our signature style for painting. It's usually only because the viewers do not have access to the reference sources that pieces look "very real", as sometimes they aren't even based on real reference sources, or significant changes have been made to create a scene.
Can you describe your process for selecting a scene to paint?
The process for selecting a subject is unique to all of us, I think it's based on memory, nostalgia, interest and ultimately what just makes for a good painting vs. photograph. If a scene is important to you and makes you feel something, more often than not, those feelings will be transferred to the viewer. Usually, a scene is not able to be painted without small or large changes being made, but some are and when that happens, it's special. I like to think those alterations are what makes a piece unique though.
What emotions or themes do you hope viewers take away from your landscapes?
I hope viewers of my landscapes are able to access a place in their own memory through the scene, the familiar ground illuminates something they remember and then they are able to understand the piece fully -- or complete it even, through their experience.
How has your relationship with nature influenced your artistic journey?
Nature has influenced me through it's patience, trees grow slowly, your garden takes a whole season or more to bear fruit. Good art takes time and when it seems to be taking too much time, I am still yet not as patient as nature. There are no places in landscape paintings to hide behind an undisciplined brush either, each part matters and backgrounds can not be reduced to flat planes of color. I think painting landscapes has made me a bit stronger in that sense, every inch of the panel or canvas is considered as much as the next one.
Why a duet with Ted Walsh?
Ted's work and my own have grown out of the same soil it seems, just the fruit is different. To me, his work is always trying to find your way back home and mine is often about stepping out.
