ON THE ROCKS

When people ask me what I paint, I simply say "I paint rocks." But, in fact, free-form arrangements of granite boulders, mineral-colored sandstone surfaces, rock-strewn tide pools, and pebbles scattered across ocean-washed stone ledges are featured in my paintings. Works such as Adornment, Point Lobos (top image), Crosscurrents, Dual Sandstone Impressions, Jetty, Weathered Patina provide magnified views of surface details. This enlarging process reveals a range of tiny "hidden landscapes" embedded within the rock surface.

As the 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, 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 caught my attention is the concretion. I first saw a group of concretions at The Slot, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. While some concretions are lumpy and spherical in shape, the concretions at The Slot are shallow, circular sandstone engravings brought about by weathering and erosion processes. Each concretion, surrounded by a ring-like frame, is similar in size but each has different interior patterning and slight outer shape variation. One 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, visit https://www.pointlobos.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Point-Lobos-Rocks-1.pdf.

Click image to enlarge

See this painting at

The de Young Open 2023

de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA

September 30, 2023 - January 7, 2024