PAINTING
Modern Skull 11"x14" Oil on canvas
2023
I really got into spray paint as a diverse practice. Letting go of control and giving into the random, chaotic, accidental and sometimes unwanted splatters, drips and soft edges was a necessary step to paint more intuitively, which I had either forgotten or was actively avoiding in my oil painting. Inspired by children’s books and drawings by my four year old son, I wanted the paint to take the wheel; let the inherent qualities of the medium dictate both process and style. I could not work particularly small, and if I did, I had to give up on details. I was drawing heavily and quickly at this time too.
Meanwhile, oil painting was becoming heavier, rougher. I was looking at modernists while being tormented by my reliance on smart devices. Thinking about how I use my hands and my phone, how we as people make tools and in turn how those tools shape how we live and act.