Shea Bajaj, an architect and avid pilot, has long been enamored with landscapes as seen from above. Fascinated by the juxtaposition of the rigid and geometric manmade forms with the native and natural setting, the artist often uses his own aerial photographs of rural and urban landscapes as a compositional starting point. Because of the unusual vantage point from which the images are captured, only slight alterations are necessary in order for us to perceive them as abstractions.
Bajaj’s ongoing fascination with light and its varying qualities led him to explore the work of Northwest Mystic painters Mark Tobey and Morris Graves, both of whom often worked in egg tempera. Bajaj was struck by how Tobey and Graves were able to create such rich and varying atmospheres in their work, and he was inspired to branch out from his work in tinted resin to explore the capabilities of the traditional tempera medium.
