I stood at the edge of Tablas de Daimiel and felt I had seen it. I had not. The scene was lush, abundant, and beautiful. An oasis in the La Mancha plains of Spain. Tablas de Daimiel National Park. Water where there had been drought. Reeds green against blue. Birds on the in their migration […]
Before I traveled to Spain at the end of May, Ismael Terriza Reguillos, residency coordinator and communications director, wrote to tell me I had been selected to participate in the Tablas de Daimiel Artistic Residency, a fully funded program backed by the government of Castilla-La Mancha and Spain’s national parks administration, organized through the international
I am writing this on the plane to Madrid, pen cramped against the tray table, noise-canceling headphones blocking the engine noise. This month has surprised me. Things have happened so quickly I do not have time to fully digest one experience before another emerges. I’m trying to keep up. Not complaining. I had barely unpacked
In my Ragdale studio last month, coherence showed up before disruption. Not the order I expected. If you have ever felt certain you understood an image or painting at first glance, this past month gave me reason to question that certainty. I watched viewers read coherence in paintings that were structurally incomplete from the start. Most of
Ragdale Studio Notes #2: The Full Image Is Not the Full Story Read More »
It was a shaky start, but that was not Ragdale’s doing. I nearly missed my flight due to a last-minute gate change. At O’Hare, it was comedy: rental car counter, two drivers, and two expired licenses. Not exactly a graceful arrival. Once that was sorted, everything flowed as if it was all meant to be.
Ragdale, Week One: The Question That Opened the Room Read More »
I came to New York to engage. I came for connection, for clarity. I didn’t chase events; I managed energy with precision. There’s a particular kind of charge when those who have shaped the art world, who have seen it all, meet you in authentic exchange. No posturing. No transaction. Just alignment—art matters because it
Day 18 of 26 at Byrdcliffe.Three large paintings done. A fourth is nearly finished. Several successful experiments in disrupted realism and one small chipmunk who refuses to respect personal space. The studio is quiet. The work is not. What I’m building here isn’t traditional figurative painting. These are psychological constructions, fragments, gestures, and refusals. Each
I’m currently in residence at the Byrdcliffe Artist Colony in Woodstock, NY, where I’m developing a new series of paintings grounded in my framework of Structural Omission. In the first week, I’ve completed one painting and begun a second—this one already pushing the work in new directions. The omissions aren’t decorative or atmospheric. They’re structural,
New Work in Progress: Byrdcliffe Artist Residency, Week One Read More »
