ARTIST STATEMENT :

As a painter, I have worked with abstract interpretations of the landscape for over 20 years. Most recently I have been experimenting with cold patination on ferrous materials, attempting to gain control over the various hues caused by oxidizing steel. I am in fact painting with the various patinas and relating the results to similarly composed painted panels. I attach the panels and channels of oxidized steel to the painted panels. Each panel suggests a language of landscape through the organic forms, shapes and colors. They suggest the spirit of natural environments free from human clutter.

Rust occurs. It can be seen as detrimental deterioration due to aging in much the same way we view the effects of aging on a person's physical appearance. Or, each can be viewed as an increasingly rich layering of chosen experiences over a period of time.

These paintings relate the natural process of chemical oxidation to the painted strokes and marks of the artist. Often a painter attempts to replicate nature but in fact there always remains a completely unique result that an artist can only approach. The panels indicate the relationship between the results of an oxidation process and the painter’s interpretation and replication of that process.