My creative research is highly invested in representing conceptual approaches to mapping, aerial views and the aesthetic created from the observation of weather patterns as viewed from above. In the making of my drawings and paintings, the process of layering is used to create a finished work that presents the viewer with a visual amalgamation of both the seen and the unseen mark. My current work plays with the notion of scale and presents an aesthetic ambiguity similar to that seen from both the macro and micro viewpoints.

My latest work addresses issues of physical and historical layering within the landscape, directly referencing aerial views and topographic imagery. I have developed a technique of working in graphite on black toned paper. The visual result presents the viewer with an intriguing image, which changes dramatically from different viewpoints. The viewer is drawn into each work through its almost blank appearance when viewed either face on or from a distance. On closer inspection, these works reveal miniscule details created through an intricate web of graphite drawing, resembling complex patterns of the earths’ surface as seen from above.

In working on the ‘Flow Series’, I chose to include more recognizable landmarks as viewed from space. The inclusion of rivers examines the mark making capabilities of flowing water on the earth’s surface along with visually revealing the results of alteration of the flow by human intervention. This series tracks the flow of water towards oceans and seas, examining at this initial stage, various rivers and bodies of water throughout the world.

The ‘Stratum Series’ and ‘Topographic Series’ explore similar visual concerns, yet each work contains a more literal reference to the concept of topographic mapping of the landscape. Created using oil paint, graphite and colored pencil, these works can be either interpreted as aerial views or as deep vertical views into the abstracted landscape.