Valley of the Moons, 18" X 72" from the badlands in southern Alberta.
Janurary 2013
The way I work
I often start with sketches some from nature some from my urban environment. The sketch inspires the composition. I will then gernerally work on several paintings at once, usually three or four. I apply washes for backgrounds and continue layering washes and glazes until the spaces and colour saturations reach a certain point. Then I focus on one canvas at a time and start painting the details. I will then start the same steps with the next set of canvases.
Later I step back and look at the series as a whole, seeing how they relate to one another. Some usually need changes or additions; others are complete, while one or two may need to take a different direction all together. The process is a continuous translation of emotion and psyche into composition, colour and line. The intended outcome of the series is to reveal different aspects of my connection with the Badlands.
As a scenic painter for theatre ( I work at the GNW scene shop in Vancovuer, BC) I work in a large scale 50' by 30’ drops, using acrylic scenic paints and paint elevation plans from the designer. As a fine arts abstract painter I draw on my traditional training, working from sketches that translate to canvas, creating a composition, incorporating colour and line. These two ways of working inform one another in creating various sized works with their different execution techniques.