artist's statement

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OBSESSED with Weather - August 2006
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There seems to be no end to the amount of attention we devote to weather and the various climates that shape our living circumstances. We constantly make observations on the swings between wind and calm, dry and rain, hot and cold, clear and cloudy. I think that maybe those people who are closest to the environmental elements are more predisposed to this kind of reflection than those more isolated from them by their living circumstances– for example a farmer versus some apartment dwellers in a city. But some weather events seem to take on the significance of a high drama for almost everyone– droughts, floods, tornados, hurricanes, blizzards, and the like. The various and subtle weather features of the landscape always arouse a feeling of emotional connection in me. While I find blizzards to be a little frightening, I always find thunderstorms and even tornados to be grand and gorgeous in a viscerally thrilling way– yet I know that these can be devastating. I find it almost impossible to separate the particular weather circumstance from the landscape experience. This is particularly relevant as I develop any landscape painting. Trying to get a grip on the spirit of that particular atmospheric patina in each landscape painting seems to be one of the most difficult and elusive things that I do. It is as if I am trying to direct my attention toward a clarifying instant during which I feel joined to that particular kind of moment and that kind of place. By extension, I think the paintings are invitations to share in that same kind of landscape experience, which includes an emotional connection with the weather.