This piece is interesting to me, as it conveys energy and movement while evoking a sense of intrigue.
After hours of après-ski at the baselodge of a New England resort, my drunk friends and I stumbled up to our slope-side condo. We laughed, traded insults, and started a snowball fight. The steep, slippery terrain made walking difficult. The sky was dull yet beautiful, and the snowy hill nearly glowed. In the chaos, I reached for my camera.
For some reason, I had my Canon SLR and snapped photos as events unfolded. Without a flash, the slow shutter speed let me capture unique movement, action, and color. These photos felt perfect—capturing the moment as photographs should. Yet as I reviewed them, a new question arose.
If the photos are perfect, why paint the same image? Isn't the photograph enough? Often, I think so, but something about these pulled me to the canvas. This prompted me to reflect on the distinct roles of photography and painting.
As the photographer in a given situation, I find myself more of an observer than a participant. There is a separation, a spacer. Creating these paintings allowed me to revisit and participate in the moments. Painting something, from life or from photographs, connects me to the subject in a unique way. Senses are at full mast, and observation is tuned to differences, negative space, and value changes. These are essential aspects to creatively documenting a given situation, but not the way I typically view the world. Thinking about this process led me to an analogy from music.
It's like learning a composer's piano music—it connects you uniquely to the composer, different than listening alone. The pianist deconstructs and reconstructs, revealing how the composer’s mind worked and exposing the piece to you intimately. You become a participant, not just a listener. This deep participation mirrors what I experienced while painting these scenes.
It could help me relive those times, to transport myself back. Back then, my life and perspective were very different. It was before I became an artist. Creating these paintings became more than an artistic exercise; it became a personal journey.
Puppies 2 is a bridge from one place in time to another, embodying both an artistic and a personal transformation.