Next Gallery Denver 6851 W. Colfax Ave Lakewood, CO 80214 https://nextartgallerydenver.com/
D'Art Center Norfolk 740 Duke St. Norfolk, VA 23510
Tribute: A National Exhibition of Paintings that Pay Homage to People, Places, and Things
Muse Cafe 3018 Harrison Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45211 Friday, November 1st
Opening night for "Passages and Pigments" There will be around a dozen paintings (big and small) that will be displayed at Muse Cafe in Westwood, Ohio. Muse has a wonderful venue and excellent staff that loves holding events like this, and I love partnering with them to support a local business with me being their local artist! (photos are from the last solo show Muse hosted in 2018 for my series "The Shepherd & the Snake")
ARTIST STATEMENT
This series is a mixture of urban landscapes and abstract paintings. As different as they may seem, they are connected in more ways than one. I knew I wanted to make a body of work that encapsulated my day-to-day routines. In order to allow that, I knew I needed to take photos along the way. I started taking these photos and labeling them as my "observation series". Instead of waiting for the perfect lighting and perfect angle, and for everything to look presentable, I decided I wanted something more raw.
I decided I would take a photo every time I would stop to look at something longer than a few seconds. Something drew me in, afterall. I was not going to worry if it was pretty enough or magical enough for instagram. I just wanted to capture the moment. Ask myself the "why" questions. What made me stop to look? What drew me in? Why did that draw me? Why am I not drawn into more pristine settings? Why do I always have to stop to look more closely at the grit versus the glitter?
These photos were the beginning of an entire theme dedicated to moments like this. I referenced from these photos in order to have them be viewed from a different perspective so they could be seen how I see them. When something is transformed onto a canvas, there is a certain reverence there. There's a new level of appreciation when its not just a photo on my iphone.
Between painting these urban landscapes, I work on abstract pieces that allow me to release the pressure of getting all the angles and proportions of buildings and rooftops accurate. As much as I love creating these scenes and giving them a new sense of beauty, the release I experience while working abstractly is very much needed. Most of them time, I won't use both types of works in the same series, but I have been craving a realness in my work. I want my viewers to see some of the steps it takes for me to complete a work, especially the "inbetweens"--meaning my abstract paintings in the middle of these photo referenced urban landscapes.
The process, afterall is the most important to me. Allowing these two types of painting in one show is just physical proof of what actually goes into completing an entire series. The process of creating this series would be incomplete if I was not showing both types.