Lines, structures, and the sharp angles of architectural design have always drawn my eye. The clean edges, the uniformity, and the stark contrasts against the natural environment started to become a keen interest at around the age of 9. While other children wanted to go to the park or playground, I would ask my mother to take me for car rides down Cline Avenue (a transport freeway in Northwest Indiana) so that I could watch the industrial skyline appear on the horizon. I was fascinated by the shapes of these massive steel and iron structures. And still am to this day.
I began to photograph more architectural subjects in my early 20s. Starting with, of course, the mighty monoliths of industry. Some years after that, and already well situated in my artistic career, I decided to start painting these studies. Painting, instead of photographing, gave me an entirely new connection to the buildings. I wasn’t only studying them anymore, I was (in a way) involved in their construction.
Painting was never done to exact the photograph. It was more about being able to take liberties and poetic license. To only paint what I thought to be important. I could exaggerate little details or completely omit them if I wanted. Painting freed me to experience these structures the way I wanted to and the way I wanted to present them to the world. In the end, isn’t that what artistic freedom is about?
