"Even a photographer cannot fully capture the real beauty in nature. He can take multiple pictures and try to pick the best moment, but an artist can capture the beauty in his mind and bring out that feeling – and only that is comparable to nature."
This quote is used throughout my website and fliers because it represents the philosophy behind my art. The actual beauty and feelings you experience when you are in nature cannot be captured from taking a photograph. Try taking a photograph of the marine exhibits at the aquarium – you will not be able to capture what you experience in person. Not only are the colors and light not as beautiful, but you miss the lively motion and change in light over time. As an artist, what I try to do is exaggerate certain aspects and colors to express that feeling you would experience in person. I am not trying to illustrate or technically copy a photograph or scene.
This concept of expression of feeling through the use of exaggeration and vibrant colors is borrowed from 19th century Impressionism. One of my favorite artists is Vincent van Gogh. In his “Starry Night Over the Rhone”, he enlarges the size of the stars to emphasize the sparkling night sky witnessed when viewing the scene at night. If you were to photograph the scene at night, the stars would just look like tiny dots. It would not convey the grandeur of the starry night sky, and the emotion from experiencing it.
"Starry Night Over the Rhone" by Vincent van Gogh
Among my paintings, the one where I feel I best expressed this thought is “Spiritual Journey”. I was inspired to paint this piece while I was driving through the Rockies on the way home from an exhibition. I noticed how beautiful the scenery was, so I parked my car and watched the sun hit the sand and rocks, creating a beautiful gold color. It was just sand and rocks, but the scenery was so beautiful, almost a spiritual experience. I sought to capture the effect of the sun on the rocks by applying gold powder to my resin mix to create the painting. The two, miniscule Native American figures were then added to show the vastness and power of the region.
