Dreaming Landscapes
Natural history as source material for my paintings has always been tantamount to a religious interest. However, a major change in my perception of the natural world came when I was studying and cataloging flora and fauna for the Burren Wildlife Foundation in County Clare, Ireland
Influenced by the minutiae of decay, rot and the inherent grace of natural forms, I started using organic material and other matter to create abstract works that are emblems for the intricacies and delicate balances that govern the mutual influence of each organism and its environment. I am still pursuing and respecting the rich sensuality of this natural world.
By using acrylic gel as a binder, I am able to incorporate natural pigments, bones, organic matter, sand, earth, wax, hair and paper into the work to create what I refer to as "Dreaming Landscapes." Ancient, historical, derelict - these landscapes are scarred, etched, corroded, and abstract; they are born out of feelings and observation of nature at work and do not represent any specific place or object.
I ask and hope that my work will give the individual the impetus to observe and discuss the natural world from an alternative perspective. The landscape with its unique commingling of the fertile and the barren, the wild and the domestic, the visible and the invisible, the vast and the intimate, deserves to be thought of as the soul of our existence. We owe the place that we inhabit respect, courtesy, and reverence. We should all have some practical knowledge of nature's domain.
William O'Keeffe
Sebastopol, California. 2006
In every thing
I demand that there
should be life,
the possibility of
existence,
and then all is well;
we are not called upon
to ask whether
the work is
beautiful or ugly.
The feeling that
what has been created
has life comes before
either consideration
and is the only criterion in
matters of art.
- Georg Buchner
"Since moving to California from Ireland in 1997, I have continued to work on my "Dreaming Landscapes," in particular the ongoing series within the larger conceptual framework of the "Fragrant Wilderness," a construct I evolved whilst fascinated by the rough karst of western Ireland's coastal Burren area
This series dwells on emotions and observations springing directly from the natural world. I do no preparation for the works other than to thoroughly observe and assimilate the place I am in. I do not dwell on the big view, but rather, am drawn to a much closer scrutiny of what's happening on the surface: the minutiae of plant life, rock face and decay; the detritus of tidal forces; and the glorious remains of mammals, birds and insects.
All of these images are fused in my work; they are from the mind as opposed to being representational. Abstraction and chaos - to me, that is the essence of our natural environs.
I am particularly absorbed by the haunting beauty of the Pt. Reyes National Seashore, the rugged coastline of Sonoma County, the dank green riverine snake of the Russian River and by the vast desert tracts that map the gorgeous desolation remaining in much of the U.S."
