By exploring animals personified, we are forced to confront nature, consider our relationship to it, and perhaps see things for what they are. Through collaboration and individual creation, these paintings are like mirrors for the world around us as both literal and metaphorical expressions. The aim of this body of work seeks to have fun with some contemporary explorations which we both share individually and collectively. From an ethereal domestic dog fight to a deer in the head lights; the unique “nature” we often find ourselves in has been reimagined for personal contemplation.
The outcome of the experimental collaborative paintings lends itself to new methods and processes for creating “together”. For example, one artist may initiate the piece conceptually, laying in the ground work in preparation for the other to come and carry it forwards…and or backwards if needed. Another method stems from the act of picking up “abandoned” pieces or surfaces that have been laying around for a long period of time; the resurrection of something old, giving it new life, new meaning, or end point for a particular painting. There is an unspoken rule in studio spaces the two have shared together over time. If it sits around too long, its free game to paint on! Mindful of the others’ plans of course, this is the real joy the two find in working together and sharing the process of painting and creating.
