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Although my
paintings initially appear to be simple landscapes, further
study shows them to be as abstract as they are
representational. It is this combination that inspires me. I
believe in the importance of the immediate visual impact of
a painting – a recognizable image, a combination of colors,
or the overall composition. Yet I also believe that deeper,
truer meanings should lie beneath the surface, giving the
viewer an opportunity to embark upon a personal voyage of
discovery. It is my aim to make this journey as stimulating
as possible by my own techniques of employing complex
processes to apply the paint. This leads to many different
levels of interpretation, allowing a simple landscape to
take on a new identity within a complex framework of
abstractions.
Landscapes dominate the subject matter of my work simply
because they have always surrounded my life. Using the
landscape as a filter, I bring to my paintings anything and
everything that excites me, whether this is a new
combination of colors, the composition of different
elements, or the interrelationship between many different
aspects of the painting. Drawing from my life experiences in
Poland, Utah, and other places I have traveled to, my
paintings are a union of diverse landscapes and the changing
emotions that they evoke.
The essence of my painting lies in the method of creation, a
method that is both direct and indirect, and that entails
applying paint, then glaze, then repeating the process until
I achieve the desired effect. I like to scratch into the
layers of paint with sticks, rags, or other implements to
reveal concealed depths. I am always looking for new ways of
applying paint – for me, brushes and palette knives alone
are too limiting and speak too clearly of the process
involved. I like to include materials that leave interesting
marks on the surface of the painting, marks that are as
interesting in themselves as what they represent.
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