....My main concern in working this way was to acquire an academic understanding of the tradition of oil paint. For me it's important to understand all physical aspects of media before setting out to accomplish conceptual artworks. Today, most of us believe the act of painting traditionally to be inherently a rebellion against technical and even intellectual progress. In every humanistic brushstroke exists the romantic importance of physical self expression. I've believed this for some time...but lately as my artistic process becomes less physical and less involved with paint, I find myself experiencing something like "space madness."
.... Could paint be inherently connected to the making of high art? Answering yes to that could be too much of a stretch...A better question would be: Could the physical process of art making, i.e. craft, be inseparable from high art? And if so maybe that is only a condition of today and earlier years. As we as humans become less physical in all aspects of life I suppose art will also become more cerebral. These are the kinds of questions most artist's have asked themselves. Anyway, here are some of my academic works from days I'll never want to return to.