ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I would like the viewers of my art to sense nature's power and its delightful ability to heal the soul, to stir the emotions, or calm the senses. My work is a pursuit of balance between the tangible world that surrounds us and the spiritualism that dwells within each of us. These feelings find expression in my work to remind us of our individual connection to a greater power, and the need to preserve this natural world we have been given.
I come across inspiration in my daily life, reacting to the environment. Something will strike me as a particularly good scene, or lighting effect that evokes some poetry…I react to that and try to capture it…I take a picture of it, or draw it, or come back another time. Whatever the scene is, it is fleeting. Painting that moment will help to reinforce that feeling, translating that impression into a permanent work of art.
I begin a piece by thinking about the color and the composition. They need to be in harmony to express the particular feeling I want to capture. The abstract, formal elements of the piece are as important as the content…I have always focused on composition to help the narrative, but recently began to use smooth, broad color fields; knifed, textured surfaces; and deeply layered oil paint to increase the tactile aspects of the work. When I work with paint, there is a physical interaction unlike other media; a combination of visual and color and the plasticity of the paint itself. I know a piece is done when there is nothing more to say. Each stroke is hopefully correct, in it's place…that is, it fits with the other aspects of the painting (light and dark, warm and cool, at rest or in motion).
When my work is going well, I am filled with a sense of flow…things work and the painting comes together of its own accord. But that doesn't mean a painting that's a struggle isn't a good work…sometimes the struggle has been won, but in the labor of it, I am not able to appreciate it's worthwhile qualities. Only later, with some distance, can I appreciate what I have done.
I strive for vibrancy and motion, or serenity and a sense of peace, or wonder and awe…some set of feelings that help define the world. I hope you enjoy them.
WHERE I LIVE
 I live in a place that is somewhat mystical. Tappahannock is a Native American Indian word meaning "the place where the water rises and falls", referring to the Rappahannock River's tidal changes here. The river and the bay are the links that unite all the people who live here, and the work I do reflects the beauty, peace, and tranquility of this very special place. |
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MEDIA
Oil on canvas or board.
RESUME
Born: Charlottesville, VA
Lives/Works: Tappahannock, VA
SOLO AND FEATURE EXHIBITIONS
Essex Inn, Tappahannock, VA 2011
Light, St. John's Church, Mclean, VA 2006
Outside Insights, Veerhoff Gallery, Washington, DC
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Rittenhouse Square Fall Fine Arts Festival, Philadelphia, PA 2008
MPA Artfest 2008
Rittenhouse Square Fall Fine Arts Festival, Philadelphia, PA 2007
MPA Artfest 2007
A Taste of Williamsburg 2007
Studio 9 Gallery, Tappahannock, VA 2007
Art on the Half Shell, Urbanna, VA 2007
413 High St Show, Chestertown, MD 2005
GRACE Champagne Art Auction, Reston, VA 2004
GRACE C-Note Exhibition and Sale, Reston VA 2004
EDUCATION
BGS Virginia Commonwealth University, Communication Arts and Design/Painting and Printmaking
Graduate Studies, George Mason University, Painting and Drawing
BIOGRAPHY
A native Virginian, Aaron studied painting at East Carolina University with Ed Reep, a California modernist, and holds a bachelor's degree in graphic design and illustration from Virginia Commonwealth University. He has continued his art education at the graduate level by studying drawing and painting at George Mason University. A former assistant professor of design, he has taught at George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College.
He has shown at a number of art centers, galleries, and festivals in the Mid-Atlantic region. Aaron lives in Tappahannock, Virginia with his family.
