Artist’s statement

NEW HORIZONS:

For years now, my paintings have often been structured around a horizon line, the place where sky meets land or sea. This horizon is how we human beings orient ourselves in space and gauge distance, just as in Colorado we unconsciously orient ourselves to the mountain range to the west. Horizons also are where our present meets the future; they help us to look forward and choose our path onward. I try to bring light into my paintings, using multilayered transluscent acrylic paint, glowing color and metallic leaf, so that each one both captures and also expresses light as you view it from different angles. These imaginary landscapes express the serenity, inherent mystery and sometimes turbulence of the natural world; they can also be read as “mindscapes,” landscapes of the mind. Some are more defined, even traditional, others looser and more expressionistic in style. All reach towards a foundational unity and balence.

My work is signed with my dharma name, “Koku,” which means “vast, empty sky”…the place where paintings come from.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MEDIA:

These pieces (Transformed Life) are based on 16mm film shot over 45 years ago; some of them on black and white film hand developed and stained. Strips of film are scanned using a high resolution flat bed scanner to rescue individual frames which are then arranged in photoshop before printing. The images are stacked in vertical columns so that each piece can be read through time from upper left to lower right. Each image is a distinct separate photograph and since 16 mm film runs at 24 frames a second, each represents 1/24th second of life preserved and yet transformed. This transformation may also include the color modifications which creates the poignancy and mood of each piece.