Nature Catalysis

A series of atmospheric abstract paintings exploring themes related to sustainability and the landscape.

This work takes inspiration from scientific illustrations on the covers of research journals that publish on innovations in sustainable energy. The title of the series comes from the chemistry journal of the well-known publication Nature. The underlying chemical and atomic makeup of matter is considered through flickering and weaving brushwork. There are nods to Rococo, Romantic landscape and Abstract Expressionist painting. In addition, the work responds attentively to observed light and atmosphere of landscapes in the Great Plains of Central Oklahoma, with their ochre prairie grasses and towering wind turbines, and the Atlantic coast off of Newfoundland, Canada, where I attended the Pouch Cove Foundation Artist Residency while creating a number of these works.

A sense of energy, futurity, and hopeful anticipation is conveyed using traditional artmaking materials such as collage, pastel, oil, monotype, and ink drawing on paper.