"I don't know a rock until I paint it"

The aesthetic qualities of rocks have fascinated me as long as I can recall. From the start, there was always a good reason to slow down and take a close look at rock materials, to find and collect them, to capture their incredibly stunning features through the lens of my camera. Experiencing this ongoing "discovery process" brings joy to my eyes as I paint a rock's detailed imagery on canvas.

Many rock hunt experiences paved the way for this lifelong interest. Gravel-strewn pathways, roadside trenches, my own backyard, and later, coastal and mountainous areas were favorite places to look for rocks. My earliest hunts began in Orange County, Upstate New York, especially during spring thaw when bits of rock poked through the softening top soil. "Leave no stone unturned" cried out to me as I painstakingly extracted rock after rock after rock from their earthen hideaways. Most times I was never quite sure what I would find as I brushed away the last bits of debris clinging to each new discovery.

Another Upstate New York adventure involved an encounter with a fossil as I sifted through mounds of soil left over from a nearby house repair. That piled up earth was a perfect setting for dislodging a rather large dirt-covered rock which to my surprise revealed tiny seashells etched into its surface. This mysterious fragment of a lost world obviously had quite a story to tell! Its unusual surface markings made me wonder how shell-covered creatures once very much alive became trapped forever on this remnant of another place and time. One could only imagine how that fossil came to be. As for the fossil, it became a welcome addition to my junior high school's science exhibit--yet another step in its long journey.

The Formations paintings highlight various textures and design elements found on California rock surfaces. Often resembling "hidden landscapes", each rock's ancient surface markings reflect a myriad of lace-like, exquisite design possibilities. It is difficult to envision the powerful forces natural and otherwise needed to etch delicately intertwined patterns onto stone surfaces. Presenting a detailed account of each subject's essence remains a clear objective of my painting style and work. In their many forms, details make things come alive and let you see beyond the obvious. Each painting involves a subtle balancing act between realism and abstraction. Realism assumes a dominant role in my work through an investment of detail. By eliminating horizons, background cues, or reference points of scale, a highly realistic painting paradoxically crosses over into an abstract composition.

Discovery, analysis, and interpretation lead me to select each painting's subject matter. I use my photographs of rock segments as informational starting points. Studying details in each photograph brings me to "the heart of the matter" as I enter an intriguing world of lines and shapes embedded within elaborate configurations. After selecting a patterned segment, the subject matter is ready to come alive on canvas using multi-layered brushwork. No doubt a new adventure awaits as I present a subject's challenging contents.

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