Arrangements for Saskia
In this body of work I was constructing paintings from odd natural forms and images of animals. I enjoy
finding strange forms in nature, especially plants that don’t really look like
plants. I play with the artificiality and emphasizing the decorative nature of these plants. The figures in these works are animals, mostly
domesticated animals, and the kinds of animals people collect, such as birds
and small mammals. I work with acrylic paint on paper, because I enjoy the versatility of the medium, and it’s inherent flatness and ability to reinforce
the artificiality of the imagery. I’m
working with the ideas of decoration these images reference the Art Nouveau
style and the Japonisme which inspired it. I am exploring how people choose to
decorate their lives with other living things.
In constructing these paintings, I drew from observation of the natural world and have created my own reality in which these forms exist. This imagined world has its own species of plants and animals, and its own laws of nature by which to operate. The further I push the imagery, the more interested I become in the possibility of creating this other imagined space, a whimsical un-natural nature, where the viewer can interpret the works as fantastic narratives, or simply admire the paintings as decorative objects. I have been looking closely at the works of artists such as Amy Cutler, Walton Ford, and Trenton Doyle Hancock for guidance in this endeavor.
In constructing these paintings, I drew from observation of the natural world and have created my own reality in which these forms exist. This imagined world has its own species of plants and animals, and its own laws of nature by which to operate. The further I push the imagery, the more interested I become in the possibility of creating this other imagined space, a whimsical un-natural nature, where the viewer can interpret the works as fantastic narratives, or simply admire the paintings as decorative objects. I have been looking closely at the works of artists such as Amy Cutler, Walton Ford, and Trenton Doyle Hancock for guidance in this endeavor.
Saskia Asleep, 2009
Arrangement in Blue and Orange, 2009
sold.
Two Creatures, 2009
Arrangement with Orange and Stones, 2010
Arrangement with Orange and Stones, 2010
