Q.     You use unusual materials.  Are they durable?

 

A.     Hay, bulrushes, dirt, and cat litter are fully embedded in latex paint which saturates them and thoroughly adheres them to their panels or canvas substrates.  Part of my painting process is to scrape off as much of these elements as possible so that only the well adhered remains.  Subsequent coats of paint seal in everything.

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A2.   The works depicting food insecurity are durable but not archival.  

There is nothing pretty or glamorous about feeding the hungry.  It’s urgent work with individuals who are sometimes emotional, sometimes desperate, sometimes unwashed.  The need is now, forget tomorrow and its worries. 

 

Archival concerns are not in the spirit of the subject.

 

Q.    Why do you use these sorts of materials in your art?

 

A.     Art historically the abstract pieces refer to the surfaces of the Neo-Expressionist paintings of Anselm Kiefer and Julian Schnabel.  On a personal note, I often use regional elements like hay and bulrushes as a means of assimilation; of relating to my area and being culturally relevant.  Roofing felt and plywood panels refer to my years in the building trades.

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B2.   In the food insecurity artworks, I use cardboard boxes, their liners, and loading pallets because they’re so awful.  They are stained, crumpled, and gross.  They reflect the nastiness with which we serve the poor and are symbolic of the way we care for people in need.  

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The form the works take affects their content and meaning.

 

Q.    Why do you work so large?

 

​A.     I’ve puzzled over this too.  My last visit to my alma mater, The Corcoran College of Art + Design, housed in the Corcoran Museum in Washington, DC, gave me the answer.  

 

When I saw the size of those gallery spaces I realized that it was necessary to take on an architectural scale to exhibit effectively in that environment.  

 

Most contemporary homes have open spaces and walls which can accommodate large artworks.  Large artwork bridges the human scale of furnishings and architecture beautifully.  

      

On a practical note, I build large paintings in sections which make shipping and storage a lot easier!   That's a little trick I picked up when working in the trade show exhibits industry--this is also where I learned my  industrial crating techniques.    

 

 

Q.     Please describe your crating & shipping.

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A.      I do not charge extra for crating and shipping.  Large paintings are packaged in custom industrial shipping modules, framed in solid pine with plywood skins.  These highly durable crates serve for safe transportation as well as storage containers for the artwork.  Shipping is via common carrier with full insurance coverage.