The Creative Process

The process starts with inspiration, be it spiritual, emotional, or landscape/nature inspired.  I meditate on the concept I'd like to express while listening to music or a book that supports the vision.  These meditations are held in my head and heart throughout the entire process of creating the art. I find that this helps the final product to express these emotions either consciously or unconsciously to the viewer. Once the concept is firmly in mind, I sometimes do a computer mockup to plan out the overall composition and color palette.

After that, I choose a canvas size, stretch over gallery wrap bars, and basecoat several times with a very dark color, usually black. This helps the pigments that follow to really sing and add to the overall depth.  When the base coat is dry and it's time to start the first stage of the two-part epoxy resin, I make sure that all the tools and pigments needed are laid out in advance. The work area must be clean, efficient, and well organized as the resin has a working time of only 45 minutes. Proper planning is crucial.  The canvas is placed on a flat surface and is entirely covered first with just clear resin.  I then go and mix more of the material and pour it into separate cups. I mix various  pigment powders and inks into these cups to get the color palette I desire. These colors are poured into the wet epoxy resin that covers the canvas.

I manipulate the colors with various tools such as palette knives, heat guns,  and mineral spirits.  It is very important, however, to not overwork the resin. If it is overworked it produces a contrived and unappealing appearance. The resin must be allowed to have its own personality and contribute to the art. Once this stage is completed to my satisfaction, or when the working time is up, the piece must dry overnight before adding subsequent layers. My pieces have anywhere from 3 to 15 layers each and achieve a depth uncommon in most 2-D art.

The final product has a meditative quality, causing people to stop and reflect on what they see and what they're feeling.  I think that those feelings can change according to what journey a person is on in their life.  It is a very beautiful process and I feel so grateful to be able to create this art.