Old Port Magazine July/August 2015

Journal Paintings

I recently made a group of paintings based on a journal my brother kept during our childhood summer vacation in 1979. During that summer my brother was 11 and I was 7. His journal consisted of short notes written on scraps of paper about each day. My family has summered in Northport, Maine since 1972.

The paintings are 30x30 inches, Oil on Canvas.

Shown at Perimeter Gallery, Belfast, Maine and Art House, Portland, Maine.

This is a page from my brother's journal.

Aucocisco Gallery, Portland, Maine

During 2010 and 2011, I made paintings consisting of multiple crosses.  This work was inspired by patchwork quilts, altar cloths and ceramic tiles I saw in a cathedral.   

Private collections

Casket

The concept for "Casket" originated in 2004. During this time, the casket of former president Ronald Reagan was being paraded around the United States while the Bush administration was banning the photos of caskets returning from Iraq. I found this ironic.

Visually, I was drawn to the stark contrast that was set up between the American flag and its often dark environment. During the painting process, I decided to exclude the blue, star-studded rectangle from the flag and specific details from the surrounding space in order to establish a heightened sense of mystery for the viewer. I also wanted the viewer to be uncertain whether the casket contained the body of a fallen American soldier or a former President. These elements of mystery are what animate the painting.

Casket. 2004  Oil, Acrylic, Alkyd Resin and Wax on Canvas.  50 X 42 inches.

Shown at Portland Museum of Art, Maine.

Private collection

I Will Follow

This painting started as a list of words such as; walk, skip, jump, trip, stumble, etc... Words relating to basic body movements. Then I started erasing the words with blocks of color- ultimately becoming interested in the stack of colors. Seeming too rigid, I painted over a few of them free-hand.

I Will Follow. 2007 Acrylic on Canvas. 44 X 26 inches.

Shown at Center for Maine Contemporary Art and Coleman Burke Gallery, NYC

http://www.colemanburke.com/newyork/chunkymonkey.html

Private collection

Delegates

In 2005, I decided to make a painting of the Maine state flag after seeing an exhibit at the Maine State Museum that showcased old Maine flags from past wars. I was imagining what it would be like if my home state of Maine was a modern day war zone like Iraq or Afghanistan. Then I saw a file photo of the role call list of Maine state legislatures on the local news and decided to list the names of Maine artists that had influenced me during my formative years over the flag.  The numbers signify important dates in my life; 71 birth, 87 moved to Maine from New Hampshire, 92 committed myself to painting, 97 left Maine for New Jersey, 05 is the date of the painting.

Shown at Center for Maine Contemporary Art.

Delegates 2005, Oil, Acrylic, Alkyd Resin and Wax on Canvas, 60 X 36 inches.

Pros and Cons

Pros and Cons is a 16x20 inch painting from 2007. Pros and Cons started as a grey grid and then I painted colored crosses into each square. This got me thinking about altar cloths, religious banners and quilts. Later I thought of the crosses as plus signs and painted minus signs over some of them.

Shown at Center for Maine Contemporary Art

Private Collection