Organic Synthesis

In the Early 90’s, my ongoing study of nature led me to some new aesthetic insights. Living in the shadows of majestic mountains which hang like a tapestry right outside my front door, I had long marveled at the random quality of rock formations which created such incredible beauty: the layered colors of uneven earth and strata, the crooked course of cornice and crags, the arbitrary formation of fissures and faults nestled in the soft undulating contour of erosion deposits. Howbeit, every defect, blemish, and erratic shape added to the splendor. I appreciated the freedom and subtle forces which created such asymmetry--that nature was resplendent with random irregular qualities: billowing clouds, smeared refractions of light painting the atmosphere, the torn edge of terra firma, patchy textures, irregular shore lines, marbled colors, knotted trees, twisted roots and branches, skewed arcs, choppy figures, and inconsistent spacing of prominent objects. Yet in the dualism of decay and growth I knew there was an organic order: ratios of phi, the golden mean, pentagonal forms, platonic solids, etc.

It then dawned on me to emulate these subtle organic forces on the canvas. In this experiment I retired the brush (save to spread water on the canvas, or drip paint). Herein, I resolved not to allow the brush to push, pull, and dictate the spread of pigment. Instead, using acrylics and the synthesis of airbrush, water color, drip, and splatter, I used the force of gravity, inertia, air, heat, and evaporation. Herein the viscosity of mixing pigment became crucial and added another dimension to the process. Another important technique was the layered approach moving from background to foreground, and adding a white mist with the airbrush between each successive layer to create atmosphere and appropriate tone. Oddly, the fact that I was not in complete control added an unexpected sense of awe. I found the process exhilarating, and the net effect glorious. (see examples above--from left to right: Tao Garden, Winter Firestorm, Emerald Mist). I called this technique, "Organic Flow."

Yet this experiment taught something more than technique--it was almost philosophical. I realized that the cosmos itself was a medium wherein all colors ran free, and yet the aesthetic beauty of the universe evoked more wonder and awe than any straight line scribed by human invention. Indeed, the fresco of creation is governed by subtle forces of natural attraction, not by brash domination, personal ambition, and narcissistic control. Still I wondered, what could bring all the myriad elements of the universe together in harmonious order? To this day, I can think of no other force greater than Love.