facets of light

As a pilot and artist, light and its creation of constantly shifting atmospheres are perennial fountains of inspiration for me. I have been exploring the varying qualities of light and color from multiple perspectives, using a variety of media, throughout the past several years.

Recently, my fascination with light inspired a quest to find a medium that could depict its layered subtleties. Studying the work of the Northwest Masters (Mark Tobey and Morris Graves in particular), I was struck by how they captured very unique qualities of light and happened to all paint with tempera. Inspired by these masters, I have found that using the 15th century Florentine medium of raw pigment mixed with egg yolk gives the translucent quality that I sought after in creating my own modern paintings. As it was for these artists, the ability to create luminous color layers and depict detail, are the strengths of egg tempera. The luminous sheen and translucent layering effects capture beauty like no other medium can, as in Botticelli's Birth of Venus or Wyeth's staggering wheat fields.