Tondos
Throughout the body of my artwork, the stylistic changes have come automatic. Once a look, or a style has run its course, I'm ready to move on. My artwork from 2002-3 was mainly about re-familiarizing myself with materials. It was a period of tuning-up. The work was about making art just to see if I could after living through some turbubulent years dominated by chaos and confusion, both physically and mentally.
By early 2003, I felt like my compositions had become too determined by the square or rectangle format. So, I changed the shape of my drawings from square to round. I was first inspired by a cute circular picture frame that I found and then I remembered the famous tondos, or round format, madonna paintings of Boticcelli, Michelangelo, and Raphael. The inspiration was refreshing and I believe this was translated in the resulting artwork. My 'contemporary' tondos were a rejuvenating force that marked an important point on both a personal and a professional level. Most fundamental was that they reminded me of the satisfaction and fulfillment that can be realized through the act of creation. They are expressive self-portraits with characteristic areas of realism combined with areas of flat or patterned surfaces.
