This body of work is a personal diary via nature journal . Each specimen I find, or am given, acts as a memnotic for me, reminding me of my travels, the things I experience, and the people I meet..Because this work is based upon "found objects", I have to be observant of my environs at all times. Not only in the broad sense, but in the minutia as well. Seeing how all the small things add up to make the big things helps me understand my environment and its history.
One of the fascinating aspects of small natural things is that they are practically everywhere. Given the opportunity, nature will invade and eventually take over almost any man made habitat. But, nature is fickle and sensitive as well, moths that were once common in the area where I once worked have all but disappeared due to development and destruction of their habitat.So my work serves the purpose of recording small examples of natural history.
Because I cannot always predict what I'll find and where, I have to be aware of the life cycles and relative abundance of the flora and fauna I collect. Living specimens of rare or endangered species are always left alone.
These paintings are influenced by Dutch genre paintings in the way I handle the paints, and also in the way those works, while showing the beauty of nature, reflect upon the mortal aspect of life. My work also owes a debt to the paintings of James Audubon. As in his work, my subjects are rendered true to life size with as much attention to physical detail and scientific accuracy as possible. Unless paired up for comparative study, or sentimental reasons, the subjects in each painting are from the same specific environment. They are true sized portraits of specimens I have in my collection."
One of the fascinating aspects of small natural things is that they are practically everywhere. Given the opportunity, nature will invade and eventually take over almost any man made habitat. But, nature is fickle and sensitive as well, moths that were once common in the area where I once worked have all but disappeared due to development and destruction of their habitat.So my work serves the purpose of recording small examples of natural history.
Because I cannot always predict what I'll find and where, I have to be aware of the life cycles and relative abundance of the flora and fauna I collect. Living specimens of rare or endangered species are always left alone.
These paintings are influenced by Dutch genre paintings in the way I handle the paints, and also in the way those works, while showing the beauty of nature, reflect upon the mortal aspect of life. My work also owes a debt to the paintings of James Audubon. As in his work, my subjects are rendered true to life size with as much attention to physical detail and scientific accuracy as possible. Unless paired up for comparative study, or sentimental reasons, the subjects in each painting are from the same specific environment. They are true sized portraits of specimens I have in my collection."