Artist Statement

With the inception of Pop Art it seemed
a bottle could no longer exist in a
personal, Morandi-like state, but was
fated to represent a corporate identity
and allude to its own ubiquity.  By
focusing on the meanings objects
collect post-consumption as they enter
and participate in our lives my paintings
sidestep Pop Art's ironic vision.

A television, a bed, a blob of petroleum
jelly are painted enlarged and isolated
from the typical still-life crowd.  The
detail of surface and structure
encourages these items to be seen
less as store-bought objects than as
vehicles of some larger force.  I aim to
reveal objects designed for human
intimacy, reflecting years of human
contact.  

Ultimately my goal is to elevate the
objects of 21st century everyday life to a
depression era reverence, by
obscurring or ignoring product branding
and placing the objects in a minimal
space with strong light and
atmosphere.   Mine is a version of
Courbet's tactile realism that reveals
big forces imbued into the objects that
fill our days.  
1980, ch. 25       
 Oil on muslin on panel            
   32” x 52”             
     2006                
1980, off       
 Oil on linen on panel             
     14” x 16”              
     2006              
1979, ch. 3       
 Oil on muslin on panel            
   71” x 69”              
    2006                
"Dusty's Tapes" 2010 oil on linen on panel 20" x 20"
"Dusty's Pillow" 2010 oil on panel 12" x 18"
"Dusty's Tapes (sepia)" 2010 oil on linen on panel 9" x 12"