Studies for “Anti-Gravity”
Fall 2021
Mixed media in various sizes, on paper
While coming to the end of the work in “Squak Mountain” I had figured out the next body of work I wanted to tackle, I’d wanted to take my depictions of the PNW forests and terrain even further into abstraction, and I began working on paper studies where I could let myself feel more free to make the more energetic, abstract tree shapes I wanted to make.
In the course of these studies, another surprising theme began to emerge: the ethereal fog and mist. This element came out spontaneously as I laid down the initial foundations for each study in white gesso and some colors in acrylic. My initial goal was to simply eradicate the stark, clean, unmarred whiteness of the page — by putting down some lightly textured layers I felt I’d have something to respond to. These layers immediately began to take the shape of the fog and mist we see here often in the PNW. The first few pieces were my initial forays into playing with this kind of negative space.
I knew I wanted to explore these misty backgrounds combined with full-on energy further. In the studies that followed below, I got more and more uninhibited with my mark making. This was producing exciting stuff, but a bit different than the direction I had initially wanted to explore. I still wanted to stay a bit longer with the identifiable forest shapes so I returned to work more closely related to the studies above, and that is what resulted in “Anti-Gravity”.
The studies below are an exciting area that I want to return to, however. I expect to explore a lot more there in my continuing studio practice.
