“Nature does not recognize it; she finds her own again under new forms without loss. Yet death is beautiful when seen to be a law, and not an accident. It is as common as life… Every blade in the field, every leaf in the forest, lays down its life in its season, as beautifully as it was taken up.” –– Henry David Thoreau, letter to Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1842

 

I’ve lived amongst the trees all my life- overwhelmed by the temptation to look up, through, and beyond the branches toward the surrounding sky, questioning the seemingly infinite space toward the horizon. As such, I wonder. How much of this world have I overlooked, ignored, or stepped on while distracted by the soaring, living branches above? While seeking (searching) to answer this question with paint, horizonless landscapes have emerged on the surface. Moreover, the landscapes manifest throughout my work as grasses, weeds, reed-like forms, and other earthly scatterings often rooted in a seasonal color palette. Furthermore, these subject matters most often represent the lifeless forms that surround me in my everyday life. For example, the winter weeds that flow across the surface will be trampled to the ground and overtaken by new growth, the sawed-up pile of wood that once towered over me will be burnt to keep me warm, and the fall leaves that fell from the trees will wither away into the soil.

​

The gravity of paying attention in new ways has led me to recognize the unnoticed patterns that repeat themselves within one’s everyday environment. For instance, when given the opportunity to work/think/resolve compositions outside of the traditional rectangle, six-sided shapes reveal themselves as part of our common landscape. Whether it be a snowflake falling from the sky, the honeycomb of a beehive, or the raft of bubbles settled on a leaf, hexagons repeat themselves over and over within our surroundings while seemingly remaining unnoticed. In turn, the varying shapes of the surfaces respond to this overlooked element and the canvas stretchers make up six-sided forms. Whether the canvas shapes are symmetrical or irregular, the potential of varying arrangements challenge the traditional Renaissance window while the size allows for a near-life-size portrayal of the subject matter. Evident by the installations of different combinations of structures and materials that allow for this consideration, overlapping surfaces, faux walls, and free-standing forms emerge.

​

I remain interested in the materiality of oil paint and various mediums utilizing a variety of tools to apply it. Whether it be a dustpan, brush, window scraper, or palette knife, the supplies utilized reflect the continued concept of paying attention throughout the work. Like the way in which the immediate landscapes without horizon lines had been overlooked and then later found, everyday objects are treated in a similar manner. While paying attention to my surroundings, I actively seek different uses for common tools. Ultimately, the materials that I work with in addition to the content represented remain dependent upon what I happen to come across within my ordinary life using my intuition as the main source of decision making. Ultimately, I watch for opportunities to intersect themes of paying attention, looking in new ways, and using my intuition as I encounter ordinary tools in my daily life in search for answers to the question: “how much of this world have I overlooked?”

​

My commitment to being an artist is compelled by curiosity and the desire to document, explore, and display everyday observations and experiences that I have lived, observed, touched, stepped on, or shared. Although I remain tempted by the trees above and the horizon line they frame, I believe there is more information that lies within the unnoticed, dead, and overlooked elements of nature. By shedding light on these landscapes, I remain tempted by the trees and the horizon line; however, my main interest remains intact- something the trees cannot overwhelm.