The Mario Veda, a series of works executed between March of 2004 and May of 2006, illustrates what I believe to be an evolution in my intellectual and emotional development, and may represent some of the self knowledge I gained while living in Springfield, Illinois. Initially a reference to a set of characters from video games on the Nintendo platform, the characters quickly evolved, becoming stand-ins for particular situations and experiences. I’ll leave the particulars to your imagination.
Here (and in no particular order) you’ll find a bunch of random stuff—early work, academic paintings, and a few prints—that didn’t really fit anywhere else.
Wax On/Wax Off: a method of practicing a particular punch blocking technique, developed by the fictional martial arts master Kesuke Miyagi; also a series of paintings I executed in June and July of 2005. I silkscreened wooden panels and then covered them with encaustic (a mixture of oil paint or construction chalk, beeswax and paraffin). In the triptychs, the patterns symbolize three responses to questions posed in the title of the work: yes, maybe, no.
This short series of paintings, executed in the Spring of 2005, was inspired by the Abstraktes Bild series of paintings by Gerhard Richter. I used a set of putty knives to apply thin layers of acrylic paint to dry-erase marker board, resulting in the illusion of depth and creating a striking luminous effect.
