statement

This painting was created using a paint technique that starts with thin washes and stains of acrylic paint, gradually building up to thick strokes and globs of oil paint.  The surfaces of the paintings are meant to create a continual shift from representation to abstraction depending on the distance they are viewed from. The perspective or angle the painting is viewed from creates a variety of visual experiences and illusions.  At a great enough distance all paint marks disappear and only an image remains.

This idea of individual perspective creating different representations is in close relation to the content of the pieces.  In each painting there is a representation of the presence of hands or figures with the figure in the painting.  Depending on the attention of the viewer and the distance or perspective to the painting the hidden hands and figures appear and disappear. The translucent hands and figures represent spiritual forces and were painted in a way that allows the viewer time to relate to the subject of the painting first and then realize the presence of the spiritual force. The spiritual representations were painted in a way that they can be denied when attention is placed solely on the subject of the painting. The individual may choose to acknowledge the influence of and wonder about the spiritual force on the subject or focus purely on the image. In the same way, we as individuals may do the same in our own lives regarding the spiritual realm.

This series was inspired by various scripture verses describing a very real and active unseen spiritual world we are all surrounded by and involved in.  The subjects in the paintings are all in some undefined way being influenced by this unseen world.  Some are directly influencing the subjects and some subjects are in environments where the unseen figures exist along side and around them. Whether the force is representing an angelic or demonic force is not defined.  The intent of this work is to create an awareness of the spiritual world and to create a desire to investigate the truth in the Bible further.
Scripture that inspired the series:

Ephesians 6:12 "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Psalm 34:7 "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them."

bio

born: 1982, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

education

Cardinal Stritch University, MA, 2011
University of Wisconsin Green Bay, BFA, 2006

selected awards/honors

Artistic Excellence Award 68th Art Annual, Neville Public Museum, Green Bay WI, 2012
Showcase Selected Piece, Borders Visible/Invisible, Firehouse Plaza Gallery, Garden City, NY, 2011
Merit Award, Figuratively Speaking, Montgomery, Alabama, 2010
Peninsula School of Artl, Emerging Artist Program, Fish Creek, Wi, 2007

selected publications

Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center, Magnitude 7, Cincinnati, OH: Manifest Press, 2011
Milwaukee Home and Fine Living Magazine, 2010
Bay Cities Magazine 2007

selected group shows

Fine Art and Faith Exhibition, White Stone Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2012
Being Human, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL, 2011
Borders:Visible & Invisible, Firehouse Plaza Art Gallery, Garden City, NY, 2011
Love Faith Shame Hope, PICTURE Art Foundation, Redondo Beach, CA, April 2011