Paintings
Moreover, painting was given the highest honour by our ancestors. For, although almost all other artists were called craftsmen, the painter alone was not considered in that category. For this reason, I say among my friends that Narcissus who was changed into a flower, according to the poets, was the inventor of painting. Since painting is already the flower of every art, the story of Narcissus is most to the point. What else can you call painting but a similar embracing with art of what is presented on the surface of the water in the fountain?
— Alberti, De Pictura
I'm drawn particularly to subjects which communicate stillness and beauty or invite contemplation. I'm inspired by many arts and many schools of painting, particularly the Boston school, tonalism, impressionism, new contemporary, alla prima portraiture and figure work. It is my feeling that painting is a good and worthwhile pursuit, and I can hardly hide my excitement to have the chance to engage with and carry along a torch lit so long ago and ferried by so many interesting, laudable, and sometimes infamous characters.
My work embraces an extensive variety of different and mixed-medias. While I have a deep foundation in traditional oils, my practice frequently incorporates acrylics, resins, marker, found objects, and experimental textures on panel or canvas. I'm constantly investigating and building on the foundations of traditional techniques, but I'm not a hopeless romantic and readily adopt modern solutions where they are good for the painting. In particular, modern paints, grounds, pigments, and varnishes are much more sound than their historical counterparts, and I believe it is the work of a good craftsman to create the most permanent works reasonable.
After much experimentation, I've also found several novel methods (though perhaps I've reinvented the wheel) to achieve various effects. In particular, I have my own way of building up the color and texture in my painting grounds, and another method for performing a painting over a fully rendered drawing while maintaining material soundness.