Temples and Shrines

The ink wash paintings of Japanese Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines are from the three years I spent living and working in Japan. These works are created using acrylic ink, as a substitute for more traditional sumi ink, in monochrome of either blue or gold. Each piece has areas of high resolution around the focal points and abstract ink splatters or uncontrolled washes in other areas to balance the realism.  Ink feels like Japan to me.

Canopy Drawings-

These drawings are part of a drawing series titled Canopy.  The drawings are abstract views of nature where the image is always of looking up at trees.  There is a blend of abstract and representational elements in the drawings that begins in the creation process of pushing and pulling the lights and darks of graphite powder until the leaves and branches emerge from the dust.  As the drawing creation progresses and a dialog between the paper and myself is established, I coax (but not dictate) the imagery to communicate that feeling of being at peace with nature but also conveying a feeling of being small.