My Maps and Charts paintings are a group of topographical-like studies of atmospheric and terrestrial space. They are explorations of concepts like time, speed, space and distance, which I see as a series of lines. Where lines begin, and continue to go, unrehearsed, rhythmic, sinuous and flowing - not always defining specific form but instead demonstrating speed, energy and direction.

 

 

The surface the lines travel through is thick and bumpy with layers of paint and often recalls various familiar environments. My process involves layering both drawing and painting media on heavyweight watercolor paper, then refining and building up the surface.

 

 

The precursor to Maps and Charts is a series of paintings on paper entitled, beasts. Similar to the Maps and Charts paintings, the beasts series are also mixed media on paper – but focus instead on the form itself rather than the space it occupies. beasts begin as ink drawings of pieces of dried flowers or roots, then become animations or ‘beasts’ of those organic forms. The lowercase ‘b’ refers to their small size.

 

 

I have recently begun to explore the way local animals and birds tend to organize themselves in relation to others in their herd (or flock) – the tension they create, the space they inhabit, and even the formations they make as a group. In merging my Maps and Charts process and including figures like birds, horses or cows, I am introducing ideas of both empathy and apathy, affection, and even aggression into my work.