In the 1990’s I was fortunate enough to study with the South African artist Ilona Anderson at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Something in my work reminded her of the British artist Frank Auerbach, and she helped me see how recklessness with the paint can impose its own order. And when that happens, suddenly you’re teetering on the edge of innovation – which is saying something when you’re talking about the well-worn vernacular of landscape painting.
As a result of the Auerbach influence, I spent many of the following years happily toeing the line between abstraction and figurative work, with a great crashing and convergence of improbably wild color combinations. [See the images below]
Lately, my work has taken a quieter turn. I live just a few minutes from farm country (outside of Portland, Oregon), and having spent years working and living in Boston, San Francisco, and New York City – great as that was – I now find myself attracted to the calming iconography of farms, ranches, and the surrounding environs. My goal is that this new focus will be informed by the Auerbach influence, even if subtly.
I hope you enjoy the work.
