My painted collages explore formal color and shape relationships with roots in the southern California landscape. They function as open ended visual puzzles within the framework of contemporary abstraction and observation.

Preliminary perceptual drawings and color notations give way to a palette of large painted paper color swatches. The paintings/collages are begun with a particular color interval and/or torn shape in mind always giving priority to evidence of the hand and surface.

This approach is parallel to my previous perceptual and narrative paintings which used the same visual elements but emphasized a slightly different stopping point. For me, perceptual painting was always about a love of color and locating the abstract.

Elements of improvisation, chance, and intuition are also used as a springboard for the final compositions. Motifs of color harmony and visual structure all draw from aspects of the diverse California landscape: ocean, mountain, and desert.

Often the paintings go through many variations. Laying out the color/shapes and shifting them around much like a child builds with blocks. Stopping only at that thrilling moment when everything is precariously balanced and the destruction of a gentle shift in wind has not yet come.