Abstract

There is a plaque above my easel that reads, “No hints, no clues”. That’s exactly where I landed with abstraction. There is no horizon, no shade, no shadow, no highlights, no perspective, no atmospherics, nothing to go on. It’s a game with no rules, an aquarium with no walls. It was the hardest painting style I’d ever attempted. I painted for several years before producing anything worth showing. Because these pieces have no subject, the captions are brief.

Untitled 2 (acrylic and prisma)

I found this painting style to be one of discovery more than contrivance. I like the motion of this piece and the combination of intensity and subtlety.

Lacunae (acrylic and prisma)

Filaments and swaths of color that denote energy and activity overwrite the unfilled gaps or spaces in this piece.

Secrets of The Horizon III (prisma)

This is one of three continuous tone black and white compositions that hang on a single line, or horizon. The title references the Norman Mailer book, Ancient Evenings, a novel of ancient Egypt in which the pharaoh is said to possess the secrets of the horizon.

Geomatica (acrylic and prisma)

The name of this piece derives from a number of loosely geometric shapes that emerge gradually from the background.

Released From Innocence (acrylic and prisma)

Is spontaneity arbitrary? Is innocence a prison?

Untitled (acrylic and pencil)

Sometimes you don’t know what you’re doing until it’s done. In retrospect, the color and execution of this piece remind me of abstracts from the 1930’s. It has a vintage feel to it.