Light

One of my favorite lines is “keep redreaming the world with more light.” It’s from the Famished Road, a novel by Ben Okri. What a directive. I attempt to do so in my paintings, and aspire to do so in my daily life. Inspiration lies out the window – there are so many types of light and characteristics of it that it would be a project to document them all. 

The light in New Mexico astounded me. The combination of altitude, no humidity and colors in the landscape produced some of the crispest, cleanest light I’ve seen. The sublime scale of the sky and mountains, desert, and mesas displayed the variability of light and deep contrasts of shadow – that trees, hills, and soft, well-watered landscapes obfuscate. (It’s funny that before going to NM, I posted about the nature of Fog.) Walking around every day while there, I could see why artists – especially Agnes Martin, an abstract painter, gravitated to the area. While buildings, hills, mesas and mountains were legible as such to me, the powerful contrast between light and shadow, and sky and earth, created abstractions and compelling patterns on forms that were already engaging  – adding unique dimensions to my visual experience. The following are some examples of this light phenomenon. I am eager to explore them more deeply through painting this winter.