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The evolution of my recent relief works

In 2006 I started working on a series of painted plywood reliefs. To jazz things up a bit I started adding metal leaf. The metal leaf seemed a little too bright and shiny to me so I brushed on chemicals to tarnish the metal. The resulting effects were breathtaking but flaky and unstable. Attempts to preserve these effects with lacquer ruined some of the pieces. The other problem with the metal leaf was that the tarnishing chemicals often ate right through the metal leaf. It became apparent that the ephemeral metal leaves were just a little too delicate for my purpose so I realized that I was going to have to make the switch to sheet metal.

With the first few pieces I continued the idea of tarnishing the metal but then I decided to texture the metal in order to give the tarnish a better grip on the surface. I then realized that the texture was a fine effect on its own so I decided to put the toxic chemicals aside.
These pieces will tarnish slowly over time on their own and I embrace this idea of change.

When I first started with the reliefs I decided to keep my decisions simple and use older works as references for forms and visual vocabulary so that I could concentrate on the idea of developing the tortured plywood relief. I then decided to use my stored kayaking experiences as the foundation for these works. At first the subject matter was about kayakers bouncing through the waves, the feeling of paddling in a group with various paddlers in different boats rising and falling, the waves light and lively, fierce and threatening, rolling and crashing. Soon it became clear that all that I needed as subject matter was the waves themselves.

The push and pull of the relief shapes is one of the most important aspects of these works. I like to use the relief to play with perspective. I want the forward waves to recede and the background waves to push forward.

There is an intimacy with the waves that kayakers experience. Waves sneak up behind us or slam us from the side. When I paddle in lively water I watch the waves in front of me, I watch the waves coming at me from the side. The waves march in rows and by watching them I can anticipate what they will do when the reach me. I can get ready to brace or shift my weight. I don’t like paddling in calm flat water. I like the bouncy feeling of flying on the waves. These are the waves of my metal clad tortured plywood reliefs.




I like to accept accidents from the natural World into my work. Some times a curve can be smoothly produced by a single gestural stroke but sometimes I like to laboriously produce a curve in increments so I can exercise more control over the resulting shapes. This can sometimes seem hesitant. I sometimes like hesitancy.
................................................................I like to avoid illusion or at least use it sparingly.
...........I like the idea of color and shape on a 2D plane. ..........................................Anti-illusionism.

Ocean Waves

2007
Acrylic on tortured plywood relief
122cm X 122cm

night waves

2007
Acrylic on tortured plywood relief
122cm X 122cm

Tarnished Metal Waves

2007
Copper, brass and zinc sheets on tortured plywood
61 cm X 40 cm

Taciturn Waves

2007
Copper, brass and zinc sheets on tortured plywood
61 cm X 40 cm

Curls

2007
water color
61 cm X 30 cm

tippy waves

2007
Acrylic on tortured plywood relief
61 cm X 30 cm

Contrary Waves in lead and rust.

2008
digital print
48 cm X 33 cm

Clapotis III

2008
Copper, brass and zinc sheets on tortured plywood
61 cm X 61 cm

Zinc Waves

2008
Zinc sheets on tortured plywood
61 cm X 30 cm

torched copper waves

2008
torched copper on tortured plywood
61 cm X 30 cm

Dream waves (copper)

2008
Copper on tortured plywood
61 cm X 30 cm

Parking lot Humbaba

2008
chalk on black top

moon lit waves

2008
copper and zinc on tortured plywood
80 cm X 70 cm

Ragged Waves

2008
encaustic on plywood
40 cm X 61 cm

Stacked Waves

2008
encaustic on plywood
40 cm X 61 cm

Morning Waves

2008
encaustic on plywood
91 cm X 81 cm

Walking Star on Tarmac

2008
chalk on black top
41 meters X 9 meters

Walking Star (detail) in the rain at night

2008
Chalk on tarmac
915 cm X 915 cm

Wooden Waves

2008
digital marquetry
45 X 33

Night waves

2006
Acrylic on tortured plywood
91 X 81

umglick

2009
Digital

sand waves

2009
sand on light box
48 X 32 inches

Governors Island 2009 chalk work detail

2009
powdered chalk on tarmac
3500 X 3500

chalk work detail

2009
Chalk on tarmac
about 30 X 30 meters