"E" final pic

"E" complete!

Last week I completed the first mural in this series, assisted by Jake Warford and Xxist! I had perviously been approached by the owner of the Chesapeake to put a mural on the back of their building, as they complete renovations. The new restaurants will not be open for a few more months, but the wall is right in the middle of the Station North Arts District, so I though it'd be a perfect place to introduce the Explore series.

Trying out a newer technique on such a big wall was quite the test, but with the help of Jake and Xxist we got it up in less than a week! Thanks so much to the Valery family for funding the mural as well as Sherwin Williams and Utrecht for helping with the paint. Final pics will be up soon (once the dumpster is out of the way).

the focal point of the mural, figure & letter

detail of the fill

workers now repairing roof, dumpster and equipment covering most of bottom story work

"Explore" Artist Statement

"Baby1", 36" x 50", acrylic and latex on canvas, 2005

In 2005, I found out I was going to be a father. Through the next 9 months I had a recurring vision of my son exploring a vast ocean, discovering starfish and other precious items. I  thought of how he would soon have access to the same world that I do. During that time I created a few paintings on this theme, of children and babies finding starfish in large aqua canvases.  

As we move through this world it seems that we all have a wonderful opportunity to explore, despite our age, race, or background. Inspired by my son's constant hunger to see and find more, "EXPLORE" investigates that equal potential. As if the figures are weightlessly floating through the ocean, they all hold this propensity to find the color and form that is around and inside themselves. Each piece contains one letter, whether representational or abstract, which throughout the entire seven piece series spells out EXPLORE.