Inspiration and Process

     This week has been one of frustration and non-motivation in the studio, so I’ve done a lot of daydreaming about the places included in my work. In staring at a few works-in-progress and a few older pieces, I was surprised to find how easily recognizable some buildings were, and how many I couldn’t immediately recall. It got me thinking about where each building was, and about the memories connected to most. 

     Architectural imagery is most of my work, and those who know me usually know that I use primarily local and regional sources. A lot of these buildings are those I walk or drive past so often I hardly notice them, but my favorites are those I have ties to – places I’ve lived in Albany, the house I grew up in, or the homes of family members.

     The title of this older painting, “Chestnut and State” (around 2014) refers to two streets in Albany that don’t meet. It includes fragments of my view from the painting studio, and pieces of the walk home from said studio.

     ​Some of these images have made it into other works, either through repeated use of etched printing plates, or just through recycling of image fragments. Looking back at the old painting has me realizing I may have a few more puzzle pieces for a current piece in progress.

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​     I don’t typically spend this much time talking about (or even thinking about) the buildings and images I use – a lot have been used so many times they’re simply shapes and planes to manipulate. Even “new” buildings are a step removed once I make an initial sketch. The personal connection is nearly buried as a building or space gets etched, printed, layered over with inks or paint, dissected and rearranged, built around…  Eventually they are abstracted and so reduced to an almost-purely-visual form. 

     ​In a way this puts me closer to the viewpoint of someone else looking at my paintings, not recognizing specific places but rather navigating a composition that feels vaguely familiar and urban.

​     My work is grounded in a sense of place but also distanced by time and abstraction. 

​Sometimes it takes a step back for me to see the bigger picture again. The extent to which viewers recognize place is hit or miss – close family will recognize my grandfather’s house, while a stranger might only have a sense of Albany’s varied architecture, if anything.

Detail of an etched zinc printmaking plate

​I heavily reuse my etched printing plates (so much that the lines in the zinc are wearing down in many) – which means that places that were once clear have been so long and so often reprinted, rearranged, and recycled that it takes time for me to identify them. As the plates wear down physically, there is a metaphorical wearing down and smoothing of the images  - a once recognizable façade becomes only an echo or impression of a house, eventually even a symbol or motif. 

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      As much fun as it is for me to play “I Spy” with places I know, I have plans to explore others’ perspectives and experiences. If you have lived in Albany county or one of the surrounding areas, and would like to be a guinea pig of sorts, I’d love to interview you over coffee! I’m looking to interview a wide range of people about places that they previously lived – not just about the home’s appearance, but about the memories and associations with the space. Please contact me if you’re interested! 

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