Watch Your Step
Gouache paint on Bristol Board;
The deserted environment being shown here is inside an abandoned brewery factory in Allentown Pennsylvania. With the feeling of broken loneliness this setting acquires I wanted to add an element of healing. An octopus is known to be a problem solving cephalopod which is why I showcased it wrapping its limbs around the damaged staircase. Watch Your Step signifies pushing through personal hardships.
Tahoe Sunsets
Gouache Paint on Bristol Board;
Taking this picture in Lake Tahoe California, I instantly thought how beautiful this would be during sunset. Given this desire to watch a color array absorb the lake, I took the original picture and changed the color scheme and saturated the hues. Working background to foreground, I started with the sky and moved into the loosely depicted water and finished with the rocks.
Where You Can Win Millions
Gouache Paint on Bristol Board;
Traveling from Nevada to California the aerial landscape is covered in natural hues. BoomTown being a populated casino in Nevada, I wanted the viewer's eyes to vibrate looking at the scene by keeping the color rich in intensity. The mark making technique was done to illuminate the chaotic attitude of the casino while keeping the texture of the desert.
Life Line
Gouache Paint on Bristol Board;
Life Line tries to embrace the flamboyant vibrancy of the planted flowers. The shadow on the wall is an anonymous provider painted in a way that shows the viewers that without water the greenery would simply be non-existent. I was hoping to have my viewer question what they could not live without. Take water out of the equation and the entity of the flowers would abruptly show how fragile the survival of these living beings are.