Statement of Intent

I want to remind you of our deep-rooted connection with nature by uncovering my forms and patterns in the wood grain of each panel I paint with, investigating Universal Love between my figures and settings.
As a Visionary Artist, I feel driven by Psyche – Spirit, mind. I explore ways to represent this nameless force which exists behind all of life, perpetuating a cycle of death and rebirth. The relationship between my perceived Self as an artist with that of my sense of Non-self as a spiritual being connected to a collective consciousness become fundamental to my work. Personal introspection; philosophy and psychology scholarship; a deep appreciation for my mountainous surroundings; and involvement with bass music culture, all drive my visual explorations.
My influences include Paul Cadmus, whose dynamic male nude figures taught me the power of foreshortening and body language to express sexual and creative force; the collages of Fred Tomaselli, who meticulously crafted geometric patterns exploding out of human figures to indicate ubiquity in the human experience; Alex Grey and Pavel Tchelitchew who both show a fascination with anatomy as a vessel for gifts of the Spirit, and the philosophies of Carl Jung, Hegel, Terence McKenna, Joseph Campbell, Ram Dass and Ken Wilbur; all who spoke to some degree on unity of thought and world traditions found through exploration of consciousness.
The organized chaos of my imagery is shaped first by my mystical voyages including a near death experience as a toddler, several profound dreams as a teen, and communion with the Other induced by a religious sacrament as a young man. I form a narrative out of these experiences through use of optical illusion, horror vacui, and repeating symbols, while employing contrasting warm and cool pigment with circles and helixes. I pick out my forms in the wood grain exposed after carving into and/or glazing an untreated face, allowing a slow cycle of decomposition as the pigment soaks into the fibers. I further engage duality by juxtaposing these natural patterns with human subjects. With this approach, I hope to create a sense of vibrating energy in the viewer, a moment of self-reflection and a reminder that “All is One!”