Decadent Decline
acrylic, leafing, toner, and wax on panel10.5" square, 2011 — $450

Where does the allure of the chandelier originate from? Do we all fancy ourselves deserving of more elegance? Does sophistication come before, or after, the attainment of Venetian crystal? 

While visiting Italy a few years ago I was struck by the sheer ubiquitousness of chandeliers— here are a few snapshots to support my claim:

Of course, I'm willing to believe that chandeliers are a personal preoccupation stemming from an aesthetic inclination towards contrast. It might also have something to do with the subconscious comfort that comes with light conquering dark. The chandelier performs this with an opulent splintering of light that asserts not just the presence of a chemical reaction, but the very genius of man's imagination and handwork. 

Bit
acylic, leafing, toner, and wax on panel
2 7/8" square, 2011 — SOLD

The smallest work I've created in some time. 

Bit isolates just the tip of a fantastic piece of spoila which sits atop Venice's Basilica di San Marco. It seemed an appropriate work to share on the official opening date of the Venice Biennale.

Elysian Veneer
acrylic, leafing, toner, and wax on panel
7 3/4" square, 2011 — SOLD

I might be setting myself up for some heated debate comparing La Canada-Flintridge to Elysium. . . assuming there are any people acquainted enough with either place enough to take up the issue.

The Act of Disappearing Completely
acrylic, toner, watercolor, powdered graphite, and wax on board
24" x 18", 2011 — $1,400

This seemed an appropriately titled image for the final weekend of my exhibit at the Oregon College of Art & Craft. I have heard from a number of folks that they've made it up into Portland's West Hills to take a look, and I want to thank you all for your support.

The Act of Disappearing Completely has stirred up more response than any other work I've completed these past months. In the show it is housed in an antique frame sprayed down with a thick coat of oily black lacquer. I believe that this finish contributes a tremendous amount of additional resonance to the work. It is one of those instances where the frame is designed to be a part of the piece, not simply offset the image.

Originally I had titled this work In and Under, because I was convinced that The Act of Disappearing Completely, which had been kicking around in my head for months, was the title of a Radiohead song. I finally dug through my albums only to discover that the song in question was actually called How to Disappear Completely. If you listen to it, I think it would be easy to draw a few parallels. . .

Wisdom and War
acrylic, toner, copper leaf, and wax on board
7" x 5", 2011 — SOLD

Continuing along with the antiquity theme. . .

I always thought Athena's attributes to be oddly incongruous with each other. The only thing that could have made her story more ironic to a modern audience was if the oil she happened to be the originator of was crude instead of olive.

Genitor
acrylic, toner, charcoal, pastel, and wax on panel
10.5" square, 2011 — $450

There are many depictions of God's head floating disembodied from the firmament. . . As Christianity came to prominence in Rome, which was in turn shaped a great deal by the Greeks, it is a simple thing to see in the visage of Zeus the blueprint for all Father-figures to come in the Western world.

The Sky a Bruise, and the Land.
acrylic, watercolor, toner, graphite, and wax on panel
5" x 10 3/8", 2011 — $350

Quite a few of the new works in the Collected show explore the visual tension between the strictly photographic and the obviously painted. This image began as the lower half of another composition. After seeing the elements of the composition together I became convinced they'd be stronger when separated and introduced the table saw into the process. 

Not surprisingly, when someone was joking with me last week about just cutting works in half to make more art for the show I had a hard time suppressing a laugh.

Snag
acrylic, tea, toner, graphite and wax on 
cheesecloth wrapped panel
6" square, 2011 — $300

Every few days over the course of the next month I’ll post a new work that is exhibited in the Collected show at the Oregon College of Art & Craft. My hope is that this will serve as some sort of substitute for those who can’t make it in person; albeit with the well-hashed caveat that it is a poor replacement for the real subtleties of personal engagement.

* * * * *
At the crest of a coastal cliff the snag stood defiant in the face of its disaster; a stance that seemed both admirable and ridiculous.