Sunday, April 30, 2017

Stone and Water

These new paintings are based on photos I took in the Rock Mountains this year. It's a beautiful part of the world; awe inspiring when you think of how the mountains came to be:

  • During the Paleozoic era, this area was a shallow sea.
  • Over millions of years, layers of sediment were deposited, and slowly turned to stone several kilometers deep. 
  • Around 80 million years ago, tectonic plates began to collide pushing the stone up.
  • Water, in the form of ice and glaciers as well as in the form of streams and rivers, carved through the stone to create the  peaks and valleys we see today. 
Imperceptible to our eyes, the mountains are still moving and changing.


'Tectonic' Mixed Media on Aluminum

'Water Cycle' Mixed Media on Aluminum

'Water and Stone' Mixed Media on Aluminum

'Erosion' Mixed Media on Aluminum

The feeling of solidity of these mountains is an illusion created by our short human scale of time. the Rockies are slowly, but constantly, being built up and worn down.

These mountain paintings fit into my current larger body of work that deals with constant change and the illusion of permanence.