Callahan Road Series; September 2017- September 2018

This series on paper owes its’ origin to a commissioned design project I was working on. I was exploring this strong horizontal format to learn how I wanted to organize the composition.  I discovered in this small format a challenge around how the visual language of line and plane interact and engage the picture’s page placement. Every mark, shift in color and management of edge (sharp focus verse soft atmospheric focus) distilled my mark making down to a crystalized intention. There was no room for meandering and wondering. My hand was forced to be clear and my intention concise. These 11” x 22” works have shifted from studies to an important companion to my large-scale works measuring as large as I am tall. These paper pieces are as demanding if not more demanding of me as an image-maker. I have now come to think of them as haiku projects. A visual essence distilled down to the cooperation between two formal ideas and the visual dance of that conversation.

 Haiku:

A traditional form of Japanese poetry, Haiku poems consist of only three lines. The first and last lines always have 5 syllables and the middle 7 syllables. The essence of a Haiku is “cutting”. A kind of play or juxtaposition and dance of ideas, Haikus are always understood in the context each verse plays and the relationship the three stanzas create together. On the surface, Haikus are a game. But they point too much grander issues opening the reader up to sublime more universal themes.

Pieces from this Gallery are available as original art or a high-quality giclee print produced in limited editions.