NOTES ON CURRENT

Current is simply movement, the dance of natural energies. We refer to it when we talk about any movement of energy; water, wind, electricity, even cultural movements. In attempting to align myself with these natural energies, I look to the Bow and Elbow rivers and their confluence. It makes sense, as I am mostly water myself, and water connects all of us. These plein air works are meditations, and documents of lessons learned from a body of water that is older and wiser than I will ever be.

I am interested in the river as that liminal space that connects the earth and the sky. It is where we come to understand that what appears solid is empty and what appears empty is not. For this reason, the paintings become studies in space while exploring landscape and abstraction as related concepts. I do not interact with the river directly nor am I attempting to affect it. I allow it to affect me, to show me its nature and to teach me.

I study the current of the river, its light, its sound, the smell, and the touch of the cool water gliding over my skin. This is a sensual practice and I use it to come to know the many different expressions of the river. In this manner, I document the river’s rhythm, movement, and energy. I appeal to the river’s natural intelligence, in search of my own, but the river remains elusive.

The river reminds me that everything is moving all the time, in all ways. It is from the river that I am learning how to move through the world with grace, how to be both soft and strong, how to negotiate conflicting energies, and how to absorb new elements while letting things go when they do not serve me. It is through this process that I am learning to see myself as a small movement within a larger dance.