Latest Work
In 2009 I was honoured to be able to participate in the first annual Masterpiece Weekend here on Salt Spring. I created two pieces, untitled (to d.flavin) and untitled (vancouver). These were inspired by a visit to the Dan Flavin Art Institute in Bridgehampton, NY.
The total immersion in pure colour made a powerful impact on me, and I wanted to express that feeling with these two pieces. The untitled (to d. flavin) is a digital montage of images taken during the trip that took us to the Dan Flavin show. None of the colours in this piece are "false". They are, as much as my equipment allows, faithful renditions of the washes of colour onto the gallery's walls. The second piece, untitled (vancouver) is entirely made up of false colours. Vancouver in the winter can be, shall we say, a bit bleak. So I coloured it up a bit.
Both pieces are printed on Duratrans and backlit. It was the best way, I thought, to capture the essence of what I felt at the Flavin show.
Current Work
In the past few years I have been working on creating images that combine different photographic elements - creating a new image from photographs.
Some come out as montages, and others are created using a multiple of mediums. What is consistent is that I only use my own photographs to work with.Manipulated Polaroid SX-70 Work
Until Polaroid discontinued the film several years ago, one of my favourite photographic mediums to work in was the SX-70 Polaroid Manipulations. The images created had a painterly feel, and each was a unique work.
The SX-70 camera would eject the print after each exposure. It started out grey, but after several minutes the image would start to appear. At that point I would start my manipulations on the emulsion of the Polaroid print, squeezing it and smushing it to and fro. After about 20 minutes the print would be done - for better or for worse. Each print was unique.
I found I liked working the film when it was warm, so most of my images were done during the summer.