Harnassing energy, raw and eloquent, I create images that invigorate our connection to our natural world, our humanity, and our shared story.
Bird Series Statement
Avian Ode
Why birds? Because they are real. They are animals. They are beautiful. They live and breathe and surround us. Because when I’m working they keep me company, singing and swooping between the trees outside my window. They protect us with their song. When birds are silent, danger is near. When they sing, all is well in the neighborhood. We feel that in a deep evolutionary way. Sparrows, larks, and finches are the majority of my subjects, chosen out of their lifelong accompaniment. These are the birds whose song heralds the arrival of spring. They live around and above us, chirping ballads of serenity.
Envisioning Energy
The shape of the sparrow is where I dance with energy. Within the wings, head, and tail, a landscape of vitality reverberates inwards and outwards. I capture it in paint, by describing and defying the form which contains it. My father is an acupuncturist, healing people since before I was born through the centuries old Chinese medicinal practice that aligns the body in wholeness. My own work has developed a parallel commitment to energy. He uses needles, I use brushes. Our life’s focus shares a devotion to the eloquent flow of life. Using swirls of paint I aim to resonate visually the lyricism shared by us and all living beings.
The Human Mark
With the form established, the crisp and accessible outline of the bird are known so well known that an inner journey can take place without getting completely lost. The finished pieces are my search, the footprint of my expedition into the unknown. The marks communicate the shape of the bird, the unseen interior world of energy, and ultimately are in and of themselves simply marks of pigment placed on a blanks surface by a human hand. Just as Paleolithic cave art leaves us evidence of man’s existence, so too do my pieces revel in and embody humanity. This is the act of creation. In an age when to capture a lark in flight is only a click away, I feel no need to compete with the camera. Doing so would require layers of illusion and a loss for the profound wonder in the act of making. The magic of the moment, when the magician causes a bird appear out of thin air is truly wonderful to watch. Our sense of reality is bent slightly and we are jolted awake to wonder. Working on an infinite white surface, the strokes of paint remain visible, transforming surface into sparrow and back again.
Bird as Symbol
And of course- they fly. Birds experience the limitlessness of space each and every day. As a symbol, they captivate our hope and aspirations. While we walk, they soar. Birds speak to both personal and cultural mythology. They are a meditative respite from all the politics, technology, advertisements, and so on that rile our attention daily. With the bird form we can allow ourselves a moment’s escape from both conflict and mundanity. Our avian friends who fly around us, darting through the trees high into the sky, have always caused us to breathe in with hope for our own accomplishments. Birds are inseparable from our timeless tales of freedom. The small, local songbirds hold a particular significance for me. Not large with talons for catching prey or beaks for tearing flesh- it is these small birds that live among us, surviving with cleverness and humility to which I can identify. They speak to me of nimbleness, humility, coexistence, peace, beauty, and success. Upwards they rise, into the vastness of the sky. The place where in our hearts, we set our aspirations to find their purpose.