Perceptual painting is and always has been a philosophical endeavor. To stand before tangible reality and to render it in visual, physical terms is to be a mirror for the world. Paintings done from direct observation offer more than mere representation, for they may reflect the singular experience of what it means to be a human sharing time, abiding, with the other objects in this world. Grown organically and fed by honest perception, these works may be seen as much more than mere images; they may become vessels, containers of life.
In addition to the plein air landscape work which has long been a mainstay of my practice, I have begun painting subjects which refer explicitly to perceptual painting’s capacity for archiving human experience. Honeybears, pickle jars, and to-go boxes number among my latest objects of concentration, literal and figurative containers into which my time and attention is poured.