This    PRECIOUS    METALS    series     began    in    an effort   to   use   a   common   and   even   cheap appearing    material    in    a    way    that    might      transcend   itself   unexpectedly.   The   material   is an   industrial   gold   enamel   paint   from   builder's sources.    The    idea    of    incorporating    such    a thing    into    my    work    came    in    April    of    2016 when   I   participated   in   a   benefit   show   for   the San     Ysidro     Church     in     Corrales     NM.     The church     structure     is     a     high     maintenance landmark    adobe    building    several    centuries old.      It   is   treasured   by   the   community   for   it’s architectural    honesty    and    integrity.        In    the paintings   which   I   did   for   the   benefit   show,   I wanted   to   make   reference   to   the   timeless idea    of    transcendence    and    to    a    kind    of creative   alchemy   found   in   the   most   ordinary     of   materials.      I   also   wanted   to   make   visible   a way   of   allowing   chance   to   show   itself   as   a force   much   more   interesting   than   our   human tendency    to    control    everything.        I    thought that   the   industrial   gold   and   silver   paint   might be   a   good   material   to   allow   an   experience of these ageless ideas.

The   paintings   are   literally   constructed   in   layers   of   enhanced   areas   woven   together   in artists’   oils,   acrylic   under-painting   and   the   reflective   enamels.   They   take   considerable time   to   complete.   The   gold   continues   to   change   in   some   unpredictable   ways   over   a few   months.      I   appreciate   that   I   cannot   control   this   continual   changing   process.      This series has previously been shown at the Corrales Bosque Gallery since April of 2016.  I   try   to   access   the   heart   of   creativity    where   the   whole   may   become   more   than   the   sum of   all   it’s   parts.      It   is   satisfying   for   me   that   this   normally   cheap   appearing   gold   paint   can suggest   something   much   more   engaging   than   its   mere   materiality.      As   I   worked   toward this,   I   created   visual   frames   or   ‘architectural’   spaces   where   the   energy   of   creation could   do   it’s   part   with   little   or   no   interference   from   me.      This,   as   I   find   it,   is   how   beauty   is a   truthful   process   laid   bare   and   not   a   goal   to   be   achieved   or   assessed.      I   want   this process    to    be    accessible    to    any    viewer    –    a    viewer    willing    to    see    without    literal representations.      In   this   way,   I   feel   that   abstract   art   most   closely   represents   life   as     process.      In   these   and   other   recent   paintings   I   would   like   to   invite   the   viewer   to   actively find   out   what   materiality   actually   is,   for   themselves.      Respectfully,   I   hope   to   show   that Mind is how matter, a universal flux, comes into being, just as the ancients say.