Practical description of this body of work, within the larger context of contemporary painting, would be realistic still life.  However, within this representational genre, I prefer to more accurately target what I do as narrative still life presented in “plastic authenticity”.  The intentional compression of space, exaggeration of color and detailed stylization of forms unite to reflect my keen attraction to pure design – in both man-made and natural forms. The iconographic selections – whether cryptic or clear – reference personal observations of human history, current events and popular culture in relation to the elegant complexity of the natural world we live in. 

 My choice to forgo most of the rules inherent to observational painting has been liberating.  My compositional process is directed by design and more akin to assembly of a collage or montage. Objects and icons are arranged, re-arranged, added and subtracted throughout the entire painting process. By strictly limiting dimensional perspective and focusing on finely tuned graphic shaping and descriptive contours, and the viewer is presented each object in a direct and singular viewpoint. This presents an opportunity to rest on each object’s individual identity and symbolic potential before attempting to decode any type of collective meaning.  As if reading a good book, viewers’ are given the opportunity to engage on a personal level, assembling their own image associations and deducing their own subtext.