6/ Avian Witness

This series of aerial-view abstract paintings has developed as part of my ongoing response to the increasing competition for space between the natural world and the manmade environment. As our wild areas are shrinking, those primeval forces such as animal migration, magnetic pull, and wind capture my imagination. How birds adapt as development increases informs these paintings. They now often migrate over vast built-up expanses of large cities. Many of their territorial landmarks have vanished, forcing them to recalibrate their familiar migratory routes.

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The vibrant and intricate geometric bands in this work allude to the roadways and other development that interferes with habitat. Yet in my work, the built environment evokes a nuanced history, evolving from ancient indigenous footpaths to superhighways. The underlayers of paint begin with silkscreened facsimiles of 19th-century handwritten text. These letterforms symbolize language and culture, and bits of black text peek through to the surface of finished paintings. On the uppermost layer, sinuous drawn lines reference the migratory movement of birds. The contrasting systems of mark making intersect randomly, at times conflicting with each other, just as birds sometimes collide with buildings. While creating these works, I envision how human development and natural forces might coexist in harmonious ecosystems.

Installation, “What the Nighthawk Knows,” Echo Arts, Bozeman, Montana

Painting with bright rectilinear marks with curvilinear lines on white ground.

Inner Compass, 24 x 72 inches

2017, oil on three panels

To the Wintering Grounds, 48 x 48 inches

2023, oil on aluminum

Flamingo Highway, 48 x 48 inches

2023, oil on aluminum. Private collection.

Lateral Drift, 48 x 48 inches

2023, oil on aluminum

Tracking Tanagers, 48 x 48 inches

2023, oil on aluminum

abstract oil painting

On a Lark, 60 x 60 inches

oil on canvas, 2023

Detail, On a Lark

Metropolitan Life, 16 x 12 inches

2023, oil on aluminum

abstract oil painting

The Measure of a Wingbeat, 48 x 52 inches

oil on canvas, 2023. Whitney Western Art Museum.

Detail, The Measure of a Wingbeat

abstract oil painting

Looking for Pheasants, 48 x 52 inches

oil on canvas, 2022

Detail, Looking for Pheasants

abstract oil painting

Joy Ride, 60 x 60 inches

oil on canvas, 2022

Detail, Joy Ride

abstract oil painting

Seeking the Headwaters, 44 x 68 inches

oil on canvas, 2022

Detail, Seeking the Headwaters

abstract oil painting

Scattershot, 60 x 60

oil on canvas, 2022. Private collection.

Detail, Scattershot

abstract oil painting

Aviatrix, 48 x 52 inches

oil on canvas, 2022

Detail, Aviatrix

abstract oil painting

Edgeland of the Sora Rail, 30 x 30 inches

2020, oil on panel. Yellowstone Art Museum.

abstract oil painting

Verge, 30 x 30 inches

2020, oil on panel

abstract oil painting

Trajectory of the Falcon, 30 x 30 inches

2020, oil on panel. Private collection.

abstract oil painting

Overland, 30 x 30 inches

2020, oil on panel

abstract oil painting

From the Eye of a Bird, 45 x 45 inches

2022, oil on canvas

abstract oil painting

Articulation of Geese, 60 x 60 inches

2019, oil on canvas. Private collection.

Hover, 12 x 36 inches

2020, oil on panel. Private collection.

oil painting

Visitation, 44 x 36 inches

2019, oil on canvas. Private collection.

abstract oil painting

Imprint, 60×60 inches

2019, oil on canvas. Private collection.

oil painting

Prairie Ritual, 52 x 48 inches

2020, oil on canvas

Peregrine over Manhattan, 20 x 18 inches

2019, oil on canvas. Private collection.

Chinook, 45 x 45 inches

2018, oil on canvas. Private collection.

Breeding Ground, 60 x 60 inches

2018, oil on canvas. Private collection.

Crossbeat, 60 x 60 inches

2018, oil on canvas. Yellowstone Art Museum.

Transcription, oil painting

Transcription, 24 x 72 inches

2018, oil on 3 panels. Private collection.

Flyover, oil painting on panel

Flyover, 24 x 72 inches

2018, oil on 3 panels. Private collection.

abstract oil painting

Circumnavigate, 40 x 44 inches

2017, oil on canvas. Private collection.

bright colored rectilinear marks with curvilinear drawing in off-white painting

Cartesian Coordinates: North, 24 x 18 inches

2017, oil on panel

bright colored rectilinear marks with curvilinear drawing in off-white painting

Cartesian Coordinates: South, 24 x 18 inches

2017, oil on panel

Painting with bright rectilinear marks with curvilinear lines on white ground.

By Echolocation, 60 x 60 inches

2017, oil on canvas. Private collection.

bright colored rectilinear marks with curvilinear drawing in off-white painting

Cartesian Coordinates: East, 24 x 18 inches

2017, oil on panel

bright colored rectilinear marks with curvilinear drawing in off-white painting

Cartesian Coordinates: West, 24 x 18 inches

2017, oil on panel

Painting with bright rectilinear marks with curvilinear lines on white ground.

Inner Compass, 24 x 72 inches

2017, oil on 3 panels

Crosswinds, 24 x 72 inches

2017, oil on 3 panels. Private collection.