I paint from life, whether a still life, figure, museum copy, or landscape. It’s all about being there. I need to be in the same light and conditions as my subject. I try to be faithful to the shapes and colors that I am observing, allowing the image to emerge on canvas. I am interested in portraying what I perceive, not a photographic image.

I go back and forth between thinking about the narrative of what I am painting and seeing it abstractly. In one sense, the still life, landscape or figure has a sense of place, a personality, and a story all its own. But ultimately I try to ignore my preconceptions and see the subject in visual terms only. If I am faithful to my perception of the shapes, colors, and values, the object will appear. 

The paint itself plays a vital part in the balancing act between narrative and picture. I spend a long time premixing all the colors that I see, which helps shift me from literal to figurative. Then I am free to let the picture evolve from the physical energy and presence of paint on a canvas, creating the illusion of reality.

Photo 1 credit: Porter Wiseman, https://flic.kr/ps/43Hanm

Photo 2 credit: Hal Mann