Artist Bio
I believe my work is about finding a harmony within dichotomies. Growing up in the Salt Lake Valley I took every opportunity to escape from suburbia into the nearby mountains or the desert. But no matter how far away I seemed to go, I always found the influence of man on the environment; roads, power lines, observation towers, trail markers, plumbing, etc. The opposite can be said within suburbia and within the miles of concrete most of us live in. Nature seems to always creep into our organized, planned, laid out communities; vines growing on power lines, grass in the cracks of asphalt, natural “weeds” growing in our well manicured lawns and so on. This to me in either case is not necessarily good or bad; it is what our world has become and is. I find my surroundings especially inspiring, both the serenity of the farm lands and the shadows and textures of the city. As much as I would like to say I would love to live in complete wilderness, I simply could not. And as much as I would like to look out my front window and not see a power line, I somehow can not deny that there is beauty in it. These dichotomies are found within my art at the current time not only within the subject matter, but also within my brush strokes, the content, the preparing of my canvas and what my work seems to be entirely about.
I suppose my art is a commentary on our current times, both in subject matter and process as well. I look to the classic painters as well as to the modern movement and can’t seem to go in either direction. I am attempting to bridge the two. Holding detail within loose strokes, let drips and the process become transparent and obvious while creating a cohesive piece. I do not paint the ‘ideal’ landscape as God created it. I find I need to paint the truth, the landscape as I see it, with its flaws, power lines, rows of fences, etc. The same principle lies within my brush strokes and painting process. I can not prepare my canvas as the classic painters do or did, but I feel I must push the boundaries on what the surface is like that I am painting on. In my art I try to explore what paint can do, a single brush stroke may represent a house, a tree or even a very large area. Meaning one brush stroke represents a combination of values, textures, hues, planes, shapes, lines and dots. I have no one set process, and may approach every piece a bit different. Experimentation seems to drive my need to create. I never know exactly how each painting will turn out; I focus more on the process rather than the outcome. However, the painting is not complete until I am happy with the results of the process and it becomes visually and emotionally intriguing.
Education
2004 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Dual Emphasis in Graphic Design and Illustration
University of Utah
Shows/Exhibitions
2008 Springville Museum 84th Annual Spring Salon, Springville, UT
2008 Art in the Pear, Portland, OR
2008 Kimball Arts Festival, Park City, UT
2008 Summerfest, Logan, UT
2005 Nature’s Art Show, Monte L. Bean Museum, Provo, UT
Awards
2008 Merit Award, Springville Museum 84th Annual Spring Salon, Springville, UT
2005 2nd Place, Nature’s Art Show, Monte L. Bean Museum, Provo, UT
2003 Christiansen Scholarship, University of Utah
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