Working primarily as a ceramicist and sculptor, I am intrigued by texture and the concept of tactile art. My approach to painting incorporates these interests.
I create highly textured pieces in which the paint is built up over time; this process often takes weeks or months. Never using a brush and relying instead on palette knives, squeeze bottles, squeegees, and various pouring and dripping techniques, each layer of paint is applied and then allowed to dry. Subsequent layers are added and created, obscuring what existed before.
Once I have sculpted the piece to where it is whole, I destroy it. The painting and all of its layers are stripped, eroded, and reduced to an equal plane. The technical details of this finishing process consist of sanding and polishing the piece to a perfectly smooth surface. The visual effect of this is that of a topographical map; an abstract two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional reality.
My paintings are meant to be touched. The viewer cannot fully understand the piece without physically interacting with it.
I create a piece whose true identity is hidden below the surface. All of the internal intricacies and secrets that were once hidden are revealed in union. I feel this concept reflects not only my personality, but all human beings and the way we interact with the world.