Indeed, we cannot imagine that a mind could paint.
It is by lending his body to the world that the artist changes the world into paintings.
--Maurice Merleau-Ponty
This selection of smaller landscapes and night paintings were painted outside, on site, on Vancouver Island and surrounding islands. Completing paintings outdoors in a single session fulfills a need to get outside, immerse myself in weather and practice an all-or-nothing, intuitive method of painting. I approach the landscape not as an observer of things, but as a participant in an event, an ever-changing and open-ended event of which I am a part. Seeing (that mysterious integration of mind/body), thought, and bodily expression—the gesture of the hand wielding the brush—are intertwined and simultaneous.
At night, using a limited palette and often working in near darkness, I work under a light source when available, such as a street light or the moon, or from the relative comfort of the front seat of my car, using the dim interior light and a steering wheel easel I designed and built for this purpose.