Vector States: Selected work from 2013 to present
One brush, one line - this was the starting point for me in the Vector States series of paintings. The idea that light is both a wave and a particle, a visual cacophony of energy that defines the physical elements that our senses resolve into specific objects or effects.
Mathematically, vectors are a unit of measurement depicting forces in a determined direction that specifically define one point in space relative to another. Vectors are a visual notation of the observed phenomena of our universe.
I use only a single brush, a pedestrian house painting brush, whether I am working on a small work on paper, or a large canvas. The diversity of line expression is based on the weighted application of the brush and the fragility of my hand. Because of the segmented nature of the lines, they initially appear straight, when, in fact, they arc, sometimes severely as my hand and arm are constantly fighting the effects of gravity. Just as gravity creates a lensing effect on light, I believe this lensing effect animates the picture, creating an illusion of movement, depth, and viscosity that a mechanized line would lack.
The Vector States paintings are created by layering structures of color that collectively define spacial and formal relationships, that in combination, create a dynamical system (space & time relationship) whose ensemble (structure) may vary by the state of the observer and the environmental conditions in which the image is observed. These structures are built upon a bias (background) of color that influences our perception of the added structures. In some works, I utilize the same structural colors, with different biases, thereby changing the viewers perception of the whole within a familiar context.
Our own processes of perception and analysis of what we see are a complex series of concurrent observations and fragmented memories based on the acuity of our filtered and biased senses. In my work, I challenge the normalcy of our observations and the biases we acquire.
