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Artist's Statement My work exists within the tradition of narrative figure painting, forming a contemporary extension of this classical format. Working for periods of one to three years on a series, I often work with a specific narrative as a point of departure, using texts as diverse as the novels of Kafka, Yiddish folk tales and more recently, Cocteau's Les enfants terribles. Thematically I focus on the the evolution of dramatic interplay through the overlapping of characters who appear from painting to painting. I frequently use family and friends as characters, intertwining the complexities of their individual developments into that of the story. My studio practice incorporates working from direct observation as well as working from photographs of scenes which I stage using live models and costumes. The live action models provide immediacy and direct attention away from images which otherwise might become too generic. The process of working back and forth from model to photograph to canvas can continue for many months, creating a layering of reality and narrative interpretation. Technically my work is based loosely on the pre-impressionist oil painting process of laying glazes over a well delineated underpainting. Beyond the deep sense of continuity with the past which this technique provides me, I am involved in the dramatic effects of light and dark which underpainting and glazing allow. In recent series I have pushed this technique beyond its tradition to incorporate layers of acrylic and a pumice medium which provide an increased awareness of the surface as its own narrative. |
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