On The Rocks

When people ask me what I paint, I simply say "I paint rocks." To be more specific, I create paintings showing magnified views of rock materials. Granite boulders, mineral-colored sandstone surfaces, rock-strewn tide pools, and pebbles scattered across ocean-washed stone ledges all contain "hidden landscapes" of intertwined shapes and patterns. Adornment, Point Lobos (top image) is one of several paintings showing delicate patterning within more dominant elements.

As the Formations series progressed, so did my interest in learning about the various types of rock formations I was painting. In particular, tafoni--those amazing sandstone segments embellished with weathered patterns of pits and cavities--play a strong role in my work. This type of fretwork brings to mind labyrinthine configurations of vintage lace. Tafoni are featured in a number of paintings such as Diadem, Emerging Affinity, Free-Form, Procession, Tafoni Detail, and Tafoni Medallion (middle image). As I researched tafoni, I found Dr. Jonathan Boxerman's website at www.tafoni.com to be very helpful. There you will find geological information about tafoni--weathering processes, origins, and evolution, along with, of course, many tafoni examples.

Another rock formation that interests me is the concretion. Brought about by weathering and erosion processes, a concretion is a circular, patterned engraving sometimes with a lumpy center. A group of concretions at The Slot, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, brought me back many times. I knew that I would eventually choose one of them for the subject of my next painting. The layout of the shapes, the intricate edging and detail naturally "drawn" into the rock surface reminded me of a scene from "Chariots of the Gods". Surrounded by a ring-like frame, each concretion is similar in size but each has different interior patterning and slight outer shape variation. One particular concretion located in the lower part of the outcrop became the subject of Concretion, Point Lobos (bottom image). To learn more about concretions at Point Lobos:

https://www.pointlobos.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Point-Lobos-Rocks-1.pdf